The Space Between
by RoonilWazlib09
Summary: Follows our favorite characters during the 19 years JKR skipped.  I'm keeping everything as JKRish as possible and I promise you'll love it!  Rating may change to T later, but not quite yet.  Please read and review!  DH spoilers! CHAPTER 7 UP!
1. Bacon Sandwich

**Disclaimer!:** So I don't own any of this. Wish I did, but definitely don't. It's all JKR's and WB's so props to them.

A/N: This is my first ever fic and I have no idea about chapter legnths or formatting or **anything** so review and tell me about anything you found irksome, disgusting, or (hopefully) delightful!

Here goes nothing...

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"_Are you sure?" said Ron. There was the faintest trace of longing in his voice as he looked at the Elder Wand._

"_I think Harry's right," said Hermione quietly._

"_That wand's more trouble than it's worth," said Harry. "And quite honestly," he turned away from the painted portraits, thinking now only of the four-poster bed lying waiting for him in Gryffindor Tower, and wondering whether Kreacher might bring him a sandwich there, "I've had enough trouble for a lifetime."_

_--DH (pp. 749)_

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Harry walked down the familiar halls to Gryffindor Tower. Only when he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady (who was currently rubbing her feet, which Harry suspected ached from running about the castle all night), he realized that he didn't know the password.

"Er, I don't…. er," he spluttered half of him too tired to finish the sentence the other half worried that he'd have to go find another student to let him in.

"Know the password?" she finished. "Just go." And, with a yawn, she swung open, revealing the scarlet and gold common room. It was presently empty seeing as everyone in the castle was feasting, grieving, and celebrating in the Great Hall, so with one look at the plush seats and scarlet wall hangings, he started up the staircase to the boys' dormitories.

Kreacher did, in fact, have a rather large sandwich waiting for Harry upon his return to Gryffindor Tower. It was, possibly, the most delicious sandwich he's even eaten. Although, he had a sneaking suspicion that everything might taste a little better now that Voldemort was gone. _'And everything feels better, too,'_ he thought has he slid beneath the soft sheets and into a dreamless sleep; the first he's had in many years.

When Harry woke again, it was to an all too familiar sound.

"Honestly Ron!" called Hermione in a hushed, annoyed tone. "Be quiet! Let him sleep! We've just spent months in the wilderness only to battle Death Eaters all night, and you're not the least bit tired? You're worried about finding your favorite Chudley Cannons shirt! If you'd just double checked everything you packed _last year_, we could've avoided this whole situation! _Accio! " _

A bright orange shirt wriggled free from under a table near Dean's bed and floated into Hermione's outstretched arms. She handed it over to Ron.

"Bloody know-it-all," muttered Ron, obviously flustered from the barrage of reprimands Hermione had just thrown at him. "We should wake him up soon anyways! It's nine o'clock at night! He's slept twelve hours and you, of all people, know that if he finds out we let him sleep while the rest of the Order and the D.A. were repairing the castle he'd be furious."

"Repairing the castle?" Harry asked groggily, feeling around for his glasses.

Hermione threw a glare at Ron and answered. "Well, with the giants and all the curses thrown around last night you didn't expect it to be good as new, did you? First they're getting the bodies taken care of-" she stopped, looking at Ron as if she'd offended him, but, without noticing, he picked up where she left off.

"We only just got back from the Great Hall. We fell asleep in the common room for a few hours until Ginny came to tell us that Kingsley was taking Vol- Voldemort…. away. That's why I came up here. I wanted to tell you in case you wanted to be there. Had to tell this one," he nodded to Hermione, "and Ginny that I was coming to get a clean shirt. She followed me anyways. Didn't want me to wake you up since you looked so damn peaceful, mate."

"This one?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Well, we'd better go then, right?" said Harry grabbing his wand and slipping into his trainers. He crossed to the door but it swung open before his hand was on the knob. All at once Ginny's eyes widened and she flung herself into his arms. Overcome with her flowery scent and soft, red hair, Harry closed his eyes to take it all in. He didn't ever want to let go.

"Hello," she said as she stepped back and grabbed Harry's hand. "You three going to help clean up? They've only tackled the first floor of the hospital wing so far, but it's like the summer Grimmauld Place all over again. Only this time mum has McGonagall on her side."

Ron shivered at the thought. "It's only fair, isn't it? We did make the mess," he pointed out, pulling his Chudley Cannons shirt on and putting his arm around Hermione. "Well, at least, I'm fairly certain; we won't run into any doxies this time."

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On their way down they passed Neville, Luna, Dean, and Seamus asleep on various cushy chairs scattered about the common room. Neville was still clutching Gryffindor's sword to his chest and Luna had a copy of _The Quibbler _sprawled on the floor next to her empty hand.

"Why didn't they just come up to the dormitory?" Harry asked, looking at his three roommates and Luna.

"Didn't want to wake you up, mate," Ron said simply as they passed through the portrait hole. The Fat Lady was currently sipping an enormous glass of wine with her friend Violet.

"Horry Patter!" she exclaimed. "My favorite Gryffin-" she hiccupped. "Gryffindor! You-Know-Who, defeated at last!" she and Violet laughed hysterically until Violet toppled over her chair and the Fat Lady struggled to pull her up.

"Thanks," Harry called over his shoulder as Ron, Hermione, and Ginny giggled. They made their way through the seventh floor, passing what remained of Flitwick's office and, across the corridor from the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy, the blank stretch of wall that Harry knew to be the Room of Requirement. They were halfway down the marble staircase leading to the sixth floor when they saw Filch boarding up hole in the wall and the remaining laughter died. The school _was_ in pretty bad shape.

Noticing Harry's grim expression, Hermione started a conversation.

"Remember when the password was 'abstinence' because those two had too much to drink over the holidays?" she asked, grinning as she remembered the Fat Lady's Christmas indulgences.

"At least she sobered up enough to keep her job!" said Ron. "Remember in third year when she was too scared of Sirius and Sir Cadogan was the only one 'brave' enough? He kept changing the password every day and even then the prat was still stupid enough to let Sirius through!"

They passed the statue of Boris the Bewildered that held the secret entrance to the Prefect's bathroom. Harry thought, for a moment of Cedric.

"You know," said Ginny, snapping Harry back to reality. "I never understood that. Why does a picture have to be brave? All they have to do is say 'Password?' and let you through. No harm will come to them as long as someone around can repaint-" she stopped as they came to the statue of Gregory the Smarmy. "Remember when Fred and George made the swamp here before they left?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," the answer came from Ron's voice. "Filch and Umbridge spent weeks trying to fix it. Come to think of it, they didn't get it out until Dumbledore was back, did they?" he asked grinning.

"I always reckoned that McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape…all the professors could've gotten rid of it in a second," Harry said, still staring at the floor where the swamp had once been.

After a few minutes Ron trotted down the staircase to the fourth floor. "Shortcut?" he asked pointing at the narrow steps with the trick step that Neville always forgot about.

"Nah" said Harry. "I want to see all the damage and," he grinned pointing at the entrance to the library, "our little sentimental tour wouldn't be complete without visiting Hermione's second home."

The library had hardly escaped the battle. Madame Pince was even more uptight than usual, trying to put all of the books back where they belonged. She shooed them away as soon as they'd put one foot into the entrance.

They started toward the stairs to the third floor corridor, but not before seeing a narrow, dim hallway leading to what Harry and Ron knew as the room where the Mirror of Erised was once stored.

Once they were on the third floor, the damage from the battle began to show even more. The forbidden corridor where Fluffy, the three-headed dog, had once called home was gone, leaving only a large hole at the foot of which grew a large patch of Devil's snare. Harry was glad to see that the statue of the humpbacked witch and the trophy room were still in tact. The old witch helped him sneak into Hogsmeade when he wasn't allowed and the Trophy room had been the sight of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's first "after-hours escapade," when they snuck out to duel Malfoy in first year. They heard Peeves still singing from the direction of the armor gallery and the Charms corridor was non-existent, so they made for the stairs down to the second floor.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom was flooded.

"Nothing new there," said Harry. "You'd think she'd be happy today of all days. But I guess gloom has worked for the last fifty-five years, why stop the tradition now?"

"Thank goodness," Ginny exclaimed as she tapped the old suit of armor outside what was the Defence Against the Dark Arts professors' office. "Amycus Carrow turned this office into a torture chamber, it looked to grim that it would be far easier to just rebuild it than have to touch that horrible stuff and get it out."

Harry closed his eyes and remembered the former professors who called this their office. In his memory, Lockhart's portraits smiled and waved at him with their straight white teeth and shiny golden locks. Then he thought of Umbridge's wall plates with the foul mewing kittens and her frilly doilies. He briefly recalled Moody's huge Foe-Glass and Dark Detectors everywhere and Lupin had set a grindylow tank in the corner as well as many other cases with creatures like boggarts and hinky punks. He stopped. It was too terrible to think about what happened to these particular professors.

Harry slowed at the top of the steps that lead to the main floor. The hospital wing's main entrance lay ahead.

"Lavender's in there," Ginny said. "I visited everyone this evening. She got bit by Greyback even worse than Bill last year. Hermione, if you hadn't cursed him when you did she might've died."

"Well," said Hermione. "It was actually Professor Trelawny, too. I cursed Greyback, but it wasn't enough. He was standing up again and then Trelawny launched this crystal ball right at his head and he was out cold.

"I guess she isn't that batty," she said smiling.

"Don't get me wrong," she added quickly seeing the looks on Harry and Ron's faces. "Divination is still the woolliest subject of them all."

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The four of them followed the small crowd that was now surging towards the Great Hall. _'Ron wasn't the only one who woke up his friend to come down and see this,'_ Harry thought as he watched the tired Dean, Seamus, Neville, and Luna being pulled into the room by an ecstatic Ernie Macmillan.

When they finally got in, Harry led them all towards the rest of the Weasley family. Mr. Weasley looked up from patting his wife on the back and greeted them with a small smile. Molly, on the other hand, saw the four of them and pulled them into bone-crushing hugs.

"Mum!" Ron yelped as she turned on him. "You've only just seen me ten minutes ago!"

Bill was sitting next to Fleur who rested her head on his shoulder and Charlie, who must have shown up early this morning when the grounds were open to everyone, had his arm around his brother Percy.

Harry wondered, for a moment, why Charlie hadn't been there last night. Being in Romania probably complicated the length of time it took for him to get the message, and Neville's grandmother _had_ closed off the only entrance only minutes after the battle had begun.

It didn't matter. He was here now and that was probably for the best seeing as he was comforting Percy. After killing Rockwood and many other Death Eaters last night, he now had nothing to occupy his mind. Now, with his hair sticking out everywhere and his glasses smashed, had taken to rocking back and forth, looking at Fred's body, and murmuring "My fault…. If only-"

George was, understandably, the worst of all. He knelt at what Harry believed was his twin's head (he wasn't sure seeing as the whole body was wrapped in a dark blue cloth) and stared blankly at the opposite wall.

"Excuse me," came the low rumble of Kingsley Shakelbolt's voice from the Head Table. "We are now going to begin repairing the castle, after which we will be moving the deceased and transferring the injured to St. Mungo's. Anyone who is able-bodied and up to the task, I implore you to lend a hand.

"Also, Madame Pomfrey is now allowing visitors into the hospital wing, but I warn you, only the first floor of it is usable so do not venture onto the higher levels, or, for that matter, anywhere boarded off in the school, until we've finished out repairs."

Everyone, including George and Percy, stood. There were bigger things at the moment. They had responsibilities to the Order, the D.A., the school…. each other.

With the whole Great Hall casting_ "reparo" _everywhere, the school was mended within a few hours. It was now time to move the bodies. Voldemort's was cast, rather unceremoniously, into a fire in one of the Great Hall's antechamber. Inconspicuous and ordinary, this disposal of the most evil and self-proclaimed "greatest sorcerer," was quite alright with everyone. Anything, just so it was finally gone.

Aurors gathered the bodies of Death Eaters and put them on a cart. Harry didn't know where they were going and didn't much care. The people he cared about were Colin Creevy, who's younger brother Dennis had brought their muggle parents to collect his body, Lupin and Tonks whom Andromeda Tonks would be taking when she arrived this afternoon and, finally, Fred, whom was currently being prepared for traveling home with his family to The Burrow.

"Ready?" Hermione asked, tugging at his arm as she and the Weasleys made for the fireplace.

"What? No. My things?" he stammered.

"Please Harry," she smiled as she shook her beaded bag in his face. "And you call me your best friend. Have a little faith in Ron and me. We'll always be here to take care of you.

"Well," she frowned as she watched Ron stuff a hefty bacon sandwich down his mouth before disappearing into the fire with a pop. "At least have a little faith in me."

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A/N: Sooooo? What'd you think? I'm okay with it. I had to get all this stuff in before I started the good stuff. As soon as we're through with funerals I'll begin with their career choices, romance, and some good old godfathering. Check back for an update later this week!


	2. Mischeif Managed

**Disclaimer:** Not mine.

**A/N:** Wow. I just checked my e-mail and it is FLOODED. If I haven't answered your review yet I'll be doing it immediately after I post this chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, sent me gift baskets...

I think I'm going to go for an update a week from now on, but I was so happy with all the great reviews I got that I decided to update early as a treat for everyone who asked so nicely. Also this is the second half of 1998... which I'm sure is redundant to say since the title _probably_ tipped you off, but after this I'm going for a chapter a year... Unless I'm really inspired about another particular year, which might happen considering all the excitment that awaits.

Okay, I'm done. Read and review, por favor!

* * *

The Burrow was dusty.

For the first time in his life, Harry did not see it as a warm, inviting place, a refuge from the Dursley's. It was just cold, bleak and dusty.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Mrs. Weasley running a finger over her kitchen counters.

In the months that the family had been in hiding, the dust that was normally airborne in the busy Burrow had settled due to the lack of movement and Mrs. Weasley's household charms. Before Hermione, who had been the last to depart, even appeared out of the fireplace, she set to work.

"_Scourgify! Tergeo!"_ She shouted with newfound energy as pots and pans began scrubbing themselves and dirt and grime was siphoned off of the floors.

The rest of them took this outburst as their cue to leave.

Mr. Weasley and Bill carried Fred to the empty room on the second landing, the one he and George had shared for seventeen years, where he would be kept until his funeral tomorrow. George blindly followed Charlie who, dragging Percy along, took them to Percy's old room to put their things away. Fleur took her and Bill's clothes to Bill and Charlie's old room while Harry and Ron slowly made their way to Ron's. Ginny and Hermione stayed in the kitchen making an effort to keep up with Mrs. Weasley, but, an hour later, at three in the morning, they too trudged up the stairs.

"Oi!" Ron bellowed, unaware that the rest of the previously busy household was now trying to sleep. He had been trying to make the ghoul in his room go back to the attic for a solid hour now. With his temper on the rise, he was resorting to shouting words that Harry doubted Uncle Vernon knew at the thing. The ghoul's response: a grunt and a kick aimed at Ron's face.

"Really, Ron," Harry said yawning. "Can't we just jinx him then send him back up there?"

"No!" he shouted, dodging another kick. "If we do that he'll just wake up in the middle of the night and bang everything around. Then no one would get any sleep. Believe me, a grumpy ghoul means a grumpy household. Now," he rounded on the ghoul. "Gerroff - my - bed!"

"Will you shut up?" Ginny panted, rushing into the room.

"Honestly," added Hermione. "You're worried about the _ghoul_ waking the whole house, Ronald? You're, by far, the noisiest in this room!"

She pointed her wand at the ghoul and performed a Cheering charm like the ones Flitwick had taught them in third year. An almost happy expression appeared on the ghoul's ugly face.

"Er, excuse me, sir?" she asked when she'd finished. "Would it be too much trouble for you to return to the attic now?"

With a grunt and a flash of what could only be described as teeth, he lunged at Hermione. Ron grabbed for her, but, to everyone's surprise, he didn't attack. Instead, he left the room and crawled back into the attic.

"Brilliant!" Ron said, still hugging Hermione as she locked the attic's entrance. "I thought I'd never get to sleep. You're the most wonderful, stupendous, magnif-"

"Ron," said Hermione, pulling away, a tired smile playing on her lips. "Just go to bed."

* * *

A few hours later, Harry and Ron were woken by what was probably the most wonderful thing they'd smelled in ages; Mrs. Weasley's cooking. 

"I haven't eaten mum's food for nearly a year!" Ron exclaimed as he hurried to pull on his dress robes.

"Of course we hardly starved that month at Shell Cottage, but I never fancied French food. It's too light or something! I need something to stick to my ribs! And Hermione's toadstools were another story entirely. They were…."

"What about Hermione's toadstools?" came an angry voice that sounded like Hermione's from the door. Ron's happy face set into one of fright.

"I'm only joking," called Ginny, peering around the Chudley Cannons poster on Ron's old door and Ron's worried face softened.

"Harry, you and Ron should come down dressed. Everyone's coming soon so we're doing it right after we eat."

Whatever happiness was in the room left with the sound of Ginny's fading footsteps. "It" was, of course, the funeral. Fred was gone. Not even the thought of Mrs. Weasley's delicious eggs and bacon could pull them out of the depression that was seeping into the bedroom. They spent the next few minutes trying to get the creases out of their robes and dusting off their good shoes. With one swoop of his hand, Harry tried to flatten his hair. He knew it was useless, but he liked to think that at least trying to do it showed respect for Fred.

"After you," Harry said, holding open the door for Ron when they'd finished getting ready. Together, they walked in silence down the stairs into the kitchen carrying with them the somber attitudes that Ginny's reminder had bestowed upon them.

Apparently, "it" was affecting everyone.

Immense piles of food lay untouched at the center of the table, and only Mr. Weasley had taken notice of their appearance.

"Boys," he nodded. Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Hermione, and Ginny looked up. Ron took a seat next to Hermione and Harry beside Ginny. They both looked toward the end of the table. Percy and Mrs. Weasley were staring, somberly, into the eggs and George hadn't come down yet.

Harry looked over to Mrs. Weasley's clock. All hands pointed to home, even Fred's. And, thought Harry sadly, it will always remain pointed at home. He was disturbed from his mournful thoughts, however, when heavy, fast-falling footsteps broke the silence of the table.

George had jogged to the foot of the stairs and walked briskly to a seat beside his mother. To everyone's astonishment, he began to eat. Loudly scooping eggs and stabbing bits of sausage onto his place, he spoke.

"Couldn't pass me the jam, could you, Ginny?"

Hesitating, as if she thought it was some kind of trick, Ginny picked up the jar of jam and handed it to George.

"Thanks," he unscrewed the lid and smeared a large piece of toast with the preserves. "Why aren't you lot eating? It all looks great, Mum."

Next, as if revived from a deep sleep, Percy began to move. Slowly he shoveled a bit of bacon onto his plate and, soon enough, everyone was eating. Ron stuffed his mouth with toast and eggs while Mrs. Weasley helped herself to a bit of sausage. As their quiet feasting finished and everyone moved to clear the table, a pop was heard in the garden.

Kingsely Shaklebolt had just arrived and shook hands with Mr. Weasley. The pair of them spoke outside, greeting other guests. Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Oliver Wood, Neville, Luna, and Hagrid had all arrived when the kitchen was finally clean and Harry made his way out the back door.

"Everyone here?" asked George. Harry hadn't noticed the entire family following him out. "Right, then we'll begin."

He led them toward the edge of the Burrow's garden. They stopped at a shady place under a great oak tree the tops of which, Harry remembered, were visible from Fred and George's room. Under the grand tree was a six foot wide hole that Harry suspected was deep enough for Ron to stand in without being able to see out and a mass of midnight blue cloth.

Fred.

"Where's the coffin?" he whispered as quietly as he could to Hermione. But George had caught it.

"Harry," he sighed. "It's Fred. Do you really think he'd want to spend forever in a box?"

* * *

The funeral, while being one of the most miserable things Harry had ever witnessed, was full of jokes, stories, and memories of Fred. Nearly everyone stopped crying to suppress a laugh when Harry talked about the time they tried to send him a toilet seat during his first year. And when George talked about when Umbridge banned them from Quidditch for life for brawling with Malfoy on the pitch, Oliver Wood, who had left school by this time, let out a bark of laughter, and Angelina, who had been captain at the time, smiled and wiped a tear from her cheek. 

When the stories were finished, Bill raised his wand as he once had for Dobby, but this time was joined by five others. Together, Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, and Ginny covered the remains of their brother. Stepping back, George took a large white stone and wrote with this wand.

_Fred Weasley_

_Comedian, Rebel, Entrepreneur_

_Brother._

"_**Mischief Managed"**_

* * *

That evening, the mood was noticeably lightened. Bill and Charlie fidgeted after dinner, bored with listening to the radio in the sitting room and George had taken to absent-mindedly fiddling with a punching telescope. The rest of them stared blankly at the radio which was now playing a commercial for _Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess and Stain Remover_. 

"Quidditch anyone?" they looked up, aghast. Though an avid fan of the sport, no one had ever expected Percy's voice to issue the question.

"I'm in." said Ron, shattering the stillness.

And his answer was echoed by Bill, Charlie, George, Harry, and Ginny.

"Wait," said Bill. "We're uneven."

They all looked around the room. Fleur was asleep on the loveseat, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were listening intently to WWN, and then, she spied them over the book she was reading.

"Me? No!" said Hermione when she saw the looks she was being shot. "I'm dreadful!"

"So am I!" retorted Percy. "We'll be on separate teams. It'll be fair then."

"I don't have a broom," she began again.

"Lucky we have a shed full of them then, isn't it?" Ron said.

Harry suspected she could have gone on arguing if she wanted too, but at the sound of Ron's voice, she gave in. "Alright," she sighed.

"But we're not using bludgers. I can't fly more than 40 feet off the ground as it is!"

Harry, his Firebolt smashed in the escape from Privet Drive nearly a year before rode on Bill's old Cleansweep while Hermione and Percy took a set of the twins' old brooms. Ginny and Bill teamed up as Chasers against Ron and George. Percy and Hermione were Keepers and Charlie was putting up a fight with Harry as they searched for the Snitch.

The first game proved Ginny and Bill's Chasing skills were more refined than the others seeing as George and Ron were really a Beater and a Keeper, so they were easily thrashing Harry's team until he saw the snitch floating lazily by Hermione's left knee and snagged it just as she dove away to avoid hitting him.

They played like this until the sky grew so dark that Percy couldn't see the Quaffle Ron had shot and got hit in the side of the head. Grumbling, he floated to the ground and called off the game. Some things, Harry thought as he watched Percy order his siblings around, never change.

Walking away from the makeshift pitch that evening, Harry mentioned to Hermione that he needed to visit Diagon Alley as soon as possible.

"You do need a new broom," said Hermione as they walked away. "I expect you'll be Quidditch captain next year and we can't have you on one of those old school ones. They're unsafe. Oh, I do hope nothing's happened to my scales and robes. It'd be a shame to buy all new things for one year."

"We're going back to Hogwarts?" Ron asked, mirroring Harry's bewildered face as he caught up to the two of them after locking the broom shed.

"Well, did you honestly expect us to get respectable jobs without any N.E.W.T.'s?"

"No but-"

"Just because we helped defeat Voldemort, Ron, doesn't mean we can just waltz into the Ministry and become top officials."

"Yeah," Harry shrugged. "But you've got to admit it probably looks brilliant on job applications."

* * *

Two days later, this same group met with an even larger assemblage of Order and D.A. members, Aurors, teachers, and Ministry officials for the funerals of Tonks and Lupin. They were buried in a somber ceremony just outside of Andromeda's property beside a tree that stood watch over her small pond. 

As the service came to an end, an infant was carried forward to look into the faces of his parents one last time. Teddy Lupin, his hair a striking blue today, placed a small hand on his father's nose and a sloppy kiss on his mother's cheek before Kingsley, Arthur, and Bill stood to cover the coffin with dirt.

Afterwards, Harry was bombarded with guests wanting to shake his hand and even Rita Skeeter, who had been lurking in the back of the congregation moved forward, no doubt, wanting an interview or statement.

Flustered and wanting to escape before she got too close, he turned to find Ron and Hermione. They had planned to speak to Professor McGonagall about returning to school today, but with this wall of people it would be impossible. Just as he moved to grab his hand and Disapparate on the spot, a hand the sized of a trashcan lid grabbed for the back of his robes.

"Geroff 'im!" came the rough voice of Hagrid. "Leave 'im alone. If 'e wants ter talk to yeh, he'll come an' find yer 'imself."

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry said as Hagrid led him out of the crowd and to Andromeda's house where most of the Order and the Weasleys were waiting.

"Pulled yeh outta there just in time too. Rita Skeeter was comin', no doubt wantin' ter interview yeh," he replied. "S'no problem, Harry. I've got to go though, Grawpy'll need lunch soon and I don't want 'im to wreck what's left o' the pumpkin patches."

"Bye Hagrid!" Harry called after him as he walked to the street and summoned the Knight Bus.

"Potter!" Professor McGonagall, Ron, and Hermione were moving towards him. "Miss Granger's just told me that you would be accompanying her and Mr. Weasley back to school this term to make up your seventh year."

"Yes, professor I was just-"

"Yes, of course, you'll still want to become an Auror then?"

Harry nodded. He realized that when it came to Professor McGonagall, it was fruitless to interrupt when she was planning something.

"I'll arrange your classes the same as Mr. Weasley's then," she added quickly. "Oh, and you'll be Quidditch Captain of course. The letters should be arriving soon. I'd better just hurry back and add your names to the list," and with that, she turned to say her goodbyes to the others and Disapparated.

"So, what now?" asked Ron, looking at the spot where McGonagall had just been.

"There's not much else to do," said Harry, a sweeping awareness washing over him as he remembered the funerals were over.

"Well," suggested Hermione. "We could always go get that broom you need Harry. It's still really early and if we go back to the Burrow Ron's mum might make us eat more."

"Don't complain about that!" snapped Ron. "I always welcome a good meal, no matter how stuffed I may be."

"Believe me," said Hermione, her voice lowering to an almost sarcastic tone. "We know."

"So! Let's go," said Ginny appearing from behind Ron. "I'll just tell mum where we're off to!"

"Wait a second," said Harry walking into the house and appearing a few minutes later with a bundle of blankets from the top of which a fuzzy blue head poked out.

"I figured with all the guests Mrs. Tonks wouldn't mind so much if we took Teddy out for a little trip," he said as he adjusted a diaper bag over his shoulder. "She actually looked a little relieved, come to think of it."

Hermione patted Harry's shoulder and cooed over little Teddy while Ron tapped his foot impatiently. Ginny had been gone ten minutes now looking for her mother. Ron glancing around looking for her caught his eye. Harry shrugged and the diaper bag slid down to Harry's elbow. As he went to readjust it, they heard the argument.

"No, no, no, no, a thousand times no, Ginevra," said Mrs. Weasley. "Just because the war's over doesn't mean it's not still dangerous to venture out alone!"

"But mum," she protested. "I'm not alone! They're all of age! George is there! We're just going to buy this lot some new things for school!"

"Oooh," said Mrs. Weasley quietly, her face alleviated of the panic that had just set in there. "You're returning to school?"

The three of them nodded. As Harry did so, the diaper bag slipped again. Ginnyexpertly caught it and swung it over her shoulder.

"Well then," she said, looking at the five of them. "I suppose it wouldn't be too terrible. I guess you could go."

They turned to Disapparate before she changed her mind. Ginny held onto her brother's arm as she was only sixteen.

"But be _extremely_ careful!" she roared sprinting at them as they turned on the spot.

With a pop and a stretch of spinning darkness, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Teddy were gone.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm fairly pleased with this chapter! It's sad, but it's getting more exciting. And, I'm sorry that I couldn't give those three more grand funerals like some might imagine, but I think they were humble people and wouldn't have wanted anything more than they got. Fred would just want everyone laughing and Lupin and Tonks would probably want everyone to take care of Teddy instead of worrying about them. 

Now that there is closure to the deaths they can move on to their "normal" lives. Also I thought it was important for George to be normal again and Percy to learn to loosen up, they may have seemed the most OOC this chapter, but it's for a good reason. I think if JKR would keep writing we would see a change in these two, so I'm beginning to instate my own.

Oooh, and I discovered the ruler button whilst I was editing and we won't have to deal with my silly strand of hyphens as a page break anymore! And I'm done with these long Author Notes... as I'm sure they annoy you as much and they annoy me.

**BIG** thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it all helped _a lot_ with editing this one! I look forward to more of them! Sickle for your thoughts? Go on and press the review button, you know you want to!


	3. SCAR

**Disclaimer: Still, not mine.**

**A/N:** Ah! I originally intended to post this around 8 tonight, because, well... I just usually do. But seeing as there are tornado warnings all over TV and the friendly meteorologist says a funnel cloud is forming above my county, my family is headed to the basement for a few hours or so. So... just in case my computer is destroyed or the power goes out, here you go.

Also, due to popular request and my own inablility to cram all of my ideas into one chapter, this story won't be a chapter a year anymore (not that we even got to that point, anyways). I was only thinking of doing it to limit myself from writing a massive 60 chapter novel... but I'm invested in too many ideas for it to turn back now. Curse my imagination.

Off to the basement!

* * *

With the familiar feeling being spat from a crushingly tight tube, Harry's feet touched the harsh, wooden floorboards of The Leaky Cauldron. He looked out of the grimy windows and watched the muggles walking by on Charring Cross Road. Had it really been a year ago when he, Ron, and Hermione had Apparated a few blocks away to Tottenham Court Road? Teddy, uncomfortable from the feeling of Apparition, brought him back from his reveries as he started to whimper and squirm in Harry's arms. 

"Here," Ginny said, appearing with Ron at Harry's side. "Let me."

She leaned Teddy up against her chest and, resting his head on her shoulder, she rubbed his tiny back. It amazed Harry how quickly Ginny calmed the wriggling infant. His stomach sank as he realized how much he had to learn about kids, girls, everything...

"Ready then?" Hermione asked, starting toward the back door of the pub. They followed and when they reached the back wall, Harry took out his wand.

"Three up, two across…." He mumbled, tapping the stone. All at once, the other stones shuffled aside to reveal the gateway to Diagon Alley. The Apothecary and Cauldron Shop peered out at them from around the corner and, to their surprise, the road was considerably busy. No one was walking around in scared little packs anymore, yet purple Ministry posters still plastered every storefront.

BY DECREE OF MINISTER OF MAGIC

KINGSLEY SHACKLEBOLT

_The shops of Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and all other magical premises are_

**OPEN FOR BUSINESS!**

Harry heaved a sigh of relief when he realized they, for once, advertised good news rather than safety regulations. He had a sneaking suspicion that the stores weren't exactly closed while Voldemort was in power, but there couldn't have been too many people brave enough to venture out and buy a new broomstick or some dress robes. He assumed these posters were more for encouraging businesses and customers alike to return to their lives. And, judging by the thick crowd making their way down the street, the posters were working.

As they passed Eeylops Owl Emporium Harry spied a little witch in her green Eeylops robes taking down wood that once boarded the windows and another witch with her back to them, feeding a small screech owl in the next window over.

The witch turned around and, placing the tip of her wand on her temple. Her big gray eyes resembled those of the owl beside her as they searched the ground at her feet for another bag of food. When she bent down to pick it up, a sheet of silvery blonde hair covered her familiar face.

He nudged Ginny.

"Is that-?"

But she had already noticed.

"Luna!" cried Ginny, her eyes widening.

Luna Lovegood looked up and waved serenly at them through the window. She stepped forward as if she was going to run to meet them, but hit her nose off of the window. She rubbed it, turned, and jumped down from the ledge, making her way to the entrance where they were already waiting.

"Hello everyone," she said, tickling Teddy's cheek. "Who's this?"

"Teddy Lupin," answered Ginny, hugging Luna. "He's Harry's godson."

"What a beautiful shade of cerulean," she said, patting Teddy's blue hair.

"Daddy once told me a story about a tumbliebort who turned this exact color after eating a bad fizzing water shoot," she added with a thoughtful smile. Placing her wand behind her ear, she moved back towards the window.

"So, Luna," began Hermione as Luna began feeding the other owls. "When did you start working here?"

"Ooooh, just today," she said, pointing her wand at a dirty water dish.

"Daddy promised me that the year after I finished Hogwarts he would take a year off to find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack and see the world with me. In fact," she added, stroking a barn owl's head. "He thinks that if we get to Mongolia by July we may see the Blibbering Humdinger migration!

"So I'm working here to make a bit of money to buy a new lunascope and some new robes. Daddy said to get orange ones because they attract streelers and fire-crabs!"

"But, Luna," said Hermione. "You can see those just down the street at the Magical Menagerie."

"Oh no, Hermione," she said adjusting her robes and walking behind the counter. "Those are domesticated. I'm talking about the wild, fifteen-foot tall streelers of the Andes. Those small, color-changing snails from Africa are hardly interesting."

"But-" Hermione started. Ron held out a hand to silence her retort and, begrudgingly, she turned to look at a snowy owl.

"How much is this one?" Harry asked pointing towards a tawny owl who hooted calmly in the corner.

"She is…." Luna scrolled the giant, leather-bound ledger behind the desk with the tip of her wand. "-twelve galleons, Harry!"

"Is she good?" He asked stroking her head. He hadn't even thought of an owl since Hedwig was killed a year ago. The bird nipped his finger affectionately as he looked to Luna.

She shrugged.

He _did_ need a new one and, as much as it pained him to even think about it, he said, "Oh well…. I'll take her."

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Teddy (who was currently napping in Hermione's arms) made their way out of the shop, promising to see Luna later this summer for Ginny's seventeenth birthday party. Harry, carrying his new owl in a cage, led the group towards Quality Quidditch Supplies.

Ron stopped to look at the new Chudley Cannons gear while Hermione flicked through a book about famous Keepers. Ginny, however, led Harry towards the rack of new broomsticks. There was the brand new Nimbus 2002, but Harry didn't even consider it. It was marked for a hundred galleons more than the Firebolts which were faster anyway. After spending ten minutes browsing around the whole rack and listening to Ron give his input on every single broom, Harry decided that the only practical choice was a Firebolt.

Momentarily, he worried about having enough money for it, but remembered, with a twinge of sadness, that he now had two vaults in Gringotts; his own and his godfather's. As he went to pay for it, he heard Ron frantically explaining it's qualities to Hermione, who, for once, hadn't had any input concerning Harry's decision.

"-unsurpassed balance, Hermione! Pinpoint precision, an unbreakable Braking Charm, AND it turns with such a light touch, it's like it obeys your every thought rather than grip!" he explained stroking the handle.

He was still going as they left the shop and passed the stationary shop.

"Great choice, mate," he said, eyeing the bag with the broomstick. "Oi! Hermione, didn't you say you needed new scales? We'll just pop into that shop across from Flourish and Blotts, what's it called?"

Hermione started to answer but Ron cut her off.

"Okay! Let's go! We'll buy you a set too, Harry! Meet you two at George's!" he called, grabbing Hermione's hand and dragging her towards the shop.

"All right," Ginny said, looking after them, obviously as confused as Harry, as they disappeared into the crowd. "Well, I won't need anything until I get my letter. Though, I can't imagine needing new supplies for one more year. We'll probably just have to make a run to Flourish and Blotts in August or something."

As she said it, the great bookstore loomed ahead of them. Instead of the purple Ministry posters, however, Harry's own face stared back at him. In his surprise, he nearly dropped Teddy and his owl.

**SCAR:**

_The Memoirs of Harry Potter_

_As told to: Rita Skeeter_

She's done it again! First, Albus Dumbledore, now the elusive "Chosen One"! This book not only contains an autobiographic profile of Mr.Potter, himself but, as a bonus, Ms. Skeeter has included in-depth interviews with close friends, classmates, professors, and others close to The Boy Who Lived. No stone is left unturned! From a troubled past and a record of misconduct and promiscuous love affairs at school, to defeating the Dark Lord not once, but twice, this book has the scoop we've all been waiting for.

**RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!**

Harry read the sign and turned around. Behind him, people were pointing at it, whispering excitedly, and a group of witches were moving forward, presumably, to reserve a copy. Ginny moved towards the shop's entrance.

"Where are you going?" he asked grabbing her arm.

"To reserve my copy, of course," she joked. "I'm interested in the part about The Boy Who Lived's torrid love affair with his best friend's sister."

"Sorry, Gin," he said, tugging her away from the crowd of people making their way towards the bookshop. "But I'm sure my promiscuity and all of those other girls will outshine our little fling."

"Little fling!" she stared up at him with a hurt look on her face. "I thought we had something special!"

She stamped away past Gringotts and Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Harry was disappointed to find that it was still boarded up. Fortescue was a kind old wizard who had helped Harry with homework and given him free sundaes the summer before his third year. Where had he gone?

He barely had time to ponder the question though, as Ginny turned around and was now practically pulling him and Teddy, who was now stirring from his nap, towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Verity, Fred and George's assistant was rubbing her short, blonde hair as she hung up a sign advertising summer clearance items such as marked-down Skiving Snackboxes and telling those students who wanted added to the owl order list to sign up now.

"Hello Ginny!" she called, holding the door open for them. "I'll go get Mr. Weasley for you!"

"Harry," said a voice from behind him. "When did you last feed him?" asked Hermione taking the fidgety Teddy from him and searching the diaper bag for a bottle.

"I….er-" he stammered. He felt horrible. He'd only known the kid for a day and was already neglecting him! He wondered wildly for a moment if Hogwarts offered a class on god-parenting.

"It's okay, mate," said Ron, putting an arm around Hermione and squeezing her. "I wouldn't have thought of it either. She's brilliant. Isn't she?"

Hermione blushed and continued to feed Teddy.

"Or you two are just a couple of-"

"Customers!" Called George, as he appeared from the back room and flung an arm around Ginny. "What can I do for you?"

"Mum said to tell you she's making steak and kidney pies tonight," said Ginny, escaping his grip to look at a shelf of Wildfire Whiz-bangs.

"My favorite," he said, rubbing his stomach through the dazzling magenta robes that clashed horribly with his ginger hair. "Next to turkey and parsnips, of course."

"Ah, little Teddy!" he cried striding over to Hermione and the baby. "Try this on for size."

Teddy moved his head from the bottle Hermione was holding and looked at George's hand. He was holding a shiny, red rattle. He handed it to Teddy and as the baby shook it, it changed colors and tinkled softly. Then, as Teddy moved to suck on it, a plush toy duck popped out and fell to the floor.

"_That_ duck will disappear in an hour or so, but then he just has to shake it again and another one will pop out. I... we, Fred and I, designed it for kids who's parents couldn't afford to buy them toys all the time if they lose them," George said, patting Teddy's head. Even Hermione looked impressed.

The baby laughed then, as suddenly as the duck had appeared, his hair turned the exact magenta of George's robes.

"I think he likes you, George!" cried Ginny, rushing over to examine the rattle.

"Then again," he said, turning to the rack of Replenishing Rattles. "Who doesn't?"

"Psshh," Ron let out sound of disbelief. He was examining a case of fake wands that slapped you in the face when you tried to use them, then, as if struck with a brilliant idea, he looked up, grinning.

"George?"

"No, you have to pay for them."

"Shut up," Ron's ears were on fire and he lowered his head slightly.

"I wanted to ask you if you needed someone to help out with the shop this summer."

"Well, I guess Verity and I can't work everyday, can we? Know anyone who'd be interested?"

"Come on. I'm talking about ME, you idiot!"

George let out a shout of laughter. "Here's a tip; don't call prospective employers idiots. Besides, you've never worked a day in your life, ickle Ronnykins!"

"Well, I figure I'd better start soon. So, how about it?"

George looked Ron up and down as if considering every inch of him.

"Okay," he said. "But you're going to look awful in the magenta robes…."

* * *

Hours later, their stomachs full of steak and kidney pie and several helpings of Mrs.Weasley's chocolate bread pudding, Harry and Ginny climbed into the Burrow's kitchen fire and flooed Teddy home. 

With a goodbye kiss for Teddy and a quick chat with Andromeda, they returned to the Burrow. Everything was quiet, but as they made their way to the sitting room, they sensed it: Ron and Hermione were about to have a row.

"Why on earth, Ronald, would I get a job on Diagon Alley? Where would I work? Quality Quidditch Supplies?" she joked, pinning up the bottom of his robes.

"No, of course not, you're ruddy terrible at Quidditch! I only meant I thought since I'd be there all summer that you'd want to follow me." Ron retorted, his ears almost as pink as the new magenta robes he was trying on.

"I'm very…. Proud of you for getting a job, but I don't have to 'follow' you everywhere, you know! I've got loads of other things to do this summer." She said, adjusting the robes around his shoulders and pointing her wand at the packet of pins on the table.

"Like what?" Ron blurted out in, what Harry thought, was a slightly rude tone. This was clearly a bad move and everyone saw it. Including Ron who flinched as a pin jerked wildly in the air and stuck him in the arm. His robes tightened fiercely, reminding Harry of Dudley in his Smeltings uniform.

"Oh, I dunno," she said her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Travel to Australia, for one."

She calmed pointed her wand at his robes to loosen them, but Ron, ready for another attack, moved to swat the needles from her hand. Though Harry was glad Ron was fighting back, he couldn't help but think, as this move was a bit tactless, that _Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches _probably never mentioned what to do when the witch in question is heaving sharp objects at you.

"Then," Hermione added more seriously, an angry gleam sparkling in her eyes. "I'm going to work on S.P.E.W. The three year hiatus wasn't exactly favorable. I mean, think of all the house elves who've suffered while I was-"

"Fighting Voldemort!" bellowed Ron, his tight sleeves ripped as he lifted his arms. "Of course the three years you spent away from fighting for elf rights weren't _favorable_! You were _fighting_ _VOLDEMORT!_ AND, I'm fairly certain we were suffering a little more than the Hogwarts elves were last year. They had cushy beds and hot meals while we were living in a tent that smelled like cats and eating mushy toadstools!"

"TOADSTOOLS!" she shouted, the maniacal expression leaving her eyes and taking over her whole face. Ron set to loosening the robes himself. "You know full well I didn't mean it like that, Ronald! I understand that we had to fight last year. And they were MUSHROOMS! It was the best I could... I - didn't - see - you - trying - to- cook - anything!" she said, slapping his arm with every word.

Ginny stepped forward to try and stop them, but Harry was quicker.

_"Protego!" _he cast a shield charm between them.

"Usually," he said to Ginny, keeping his wand pointed at the shield. "I'd let them work it out on their own. But this is the second time I've had to resort to this….Hermione's become increasingly violent. If I'd let them go any longer she might have set canaries on him again."

"Shut up, Harry," Ron and Hermione said together.

"Hermione, why do you have to go to Australia?" asked Ginny in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

"My parents are there," she said. "I modified their memories last year while we were away so Voldemort couldn't get to them."

"Oooh, and when are you planning to go get them?" she asked while Harry removed the shield.

As Hermione and Ginny walked towards the kitchen talking about Australia, Harry hung back with Ron.

_"Wow,"_ he mouthed with a grin.

Ron moved to follow Hermione.

"Oi! I still need you to fix these 'Mione!" When she didn't respond he added, "Fine I'll just tell mum you couldn't do it and she'll set them right in seconds!"

There was a scream, no a grunt, maybe both, from the stairs. Ron turned back to Harry with a broad smile on his face. Between the stupid grin and the tight pink robes, Harry wondered if he'd ever find a hint credibility to his best friend's side of the argument this time.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"She's gone mad!" he said pointing at the doorway to the kitchen. He shuddered and began his explanation "Well, you see, it all started when…." he shook his head again and the crazy grin reappeared on his face.

"Honestly….I don't even remember."

* * *

**A/N: **I'm pleased with it and I hope you are too. I've got a lot to live up to now that I have so many great readers! By the way, thanks for all the awesome reviews and more alerting and favoriting! I had to make a new folder for my inbox. Which would usually bother me since my computer is annoyingly slow with my e-mail... but I was thrilled! Keep 'em coming! 

And I have a quick question that's been puzzling me while I'm writing some later chapters. If you don't know the answer just gimme your opinion:

When witches are born, do you think they're given godfathers, godmothers, or nothing? And do you think every witch or wizard requires a godsomeone or it's just something that Harry's parents and their friends decided to do?

As always, let me know what you think. Likes, dislikes, things to change before the next chapter goes up? Just review, send me a message, throw up smoke signals, message me by carrier pidgeon, send me a post card, owl me... what ever floats your boat.


	4. Pink

**Disclaimer: Just like the first 3 chapters, this one also doesn't belong to me.**

**A/N:** Thanks for all the great reviews and the overwhelming number of you who favorited and alerted the story and me. I'm so happy! Also, thanks for the answers to my questions. I loved all of your opinions, especially since, for the most part, they coincided with mine!

And yes, I am fine, thank you very much for the well wishes. All that happened in the uber, storm of the century, supposed Day-After-Tomorrow-esque storm was a fallen tree branch. Don't worry! The tree's okay!

Weathermen are fear-mongerers.

Wanna hear something kinda funny? This chapter starts on August 11th. Which is today! Weirdddd.

* * *

Harry was leaning against the Weasley's kitchen table that Percy and Charlie had just levitated outside. He watched as Bill and Fleur hung pink ribbons and streamers from the tree. Just as he had a year ago for Harry's seventeenth birthday, George charmed some pink lanterns with the number seventeen emblazoned on them to float around the dinner table.

Ginny walked out the back door levitating a bowl of mashed potatoes that she could have just as easily carried but, she was seventeen now. Harry vaguely remembered summoning his glasses the morning of his birthday and poking himself in the eye.

"Ugh. All this pink is making me sick," said Ginny as the bowl landed gracefully on the table.

"Come on, Gin," George said flicking his wand to light a lantern. "It's mummy's little girl's favorite color, after all."

"Yes, when I was seven," Ginny said, examining the pink napkins Mrs. Weasley had dyed just for the occasion.

"I think it's…." Harry looked around at the pink, remembering Lockhart's Valentine's Day decorations. "Lovely?"

George stuffed a party hat on Ginny's head that read 'Birthday Girl.' Its bright pink hue clashed horribly with her flaming red hair. She ripped the hat from her head and aimed to send a curse at George as he ducked behind Bill.

"Complete arse," she muttered.

"Sorry, you'll have to speak up Gin! My ear was the other way. Great hat, by the way," he charmed the hat back onto her head.

Annoyed, she set the hat, point first, after him. He countered by turning it into a paper airplane and sent it hurtling back but, it hit Percy instead, crashing right into the side of his head. They braced themselves for a lecture on their immaturity but, thankfully, were interrupted.

_CRACK!_

They jumped. The protective charms over the Burrow had only been lifted a day ago and no one was quite used to anyone Apparating in yet. Hermione appeared holding her trunk, Crookshanks, and a box with gold wrapping paper and a ribbon. Her bushy hair was streaked with gold from her month in Australia and her skin gave off a radiant glow that Harry had never before seen on her.

"Hermione!" Ginny cried rushing to help her with her things.

"Happy Birthday, Ginny!" She called, holding out the gift. She hugged everyone in sight before pulling Harry into a bone-crushing squeeze.

"Where's Ron?" she asked as she backed away.

"Actually," Harry admitted, gasping for breath. "I don't even know. I haven't seen him since he left for work this morning. George," he called. "Where's Ron at?"

"I had him close up today," said George, kicking at Crookshanks who had taken to attacking his shoelaces.

"We were done, actually. Closed up about an hour early but, just after I locked the door, the stupid git knocked over a container of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder then set about the store grabbing at things trying to find a light, which was completely pointless anyway. I Apparated out of there straight away, though. Mum asked me to come home as early as I could to help decorate for dear Ginny," he pinched Ginny's cheek and she batted him away.

"Who knows what else he knocked over?"

"I do," bellowed Ron, as he walked into the backyard in his, now singed, magenta robes with a smudge of black soot covering half of his face.

"It was _just_ a case of wet-start fireworks and your big, stupid mug of tea!"

Everyone, except Ron, laughed.

"Honestly! _No one_ can drink that much tea, George! It set off two Deflagration Deluxe cases and the Pygmy Puffs were so scared it took half an hour to get them back in the cage!"

He pointed his wand at his face and mumbled _"Tergeo!"_

"And that's 40 Galleons out of your salary, young apprentice," George called in a singsong voice as he turned back to light the other lanterns.

Ron wheeled around to argue but stopped. His ears went red when he realized he was facing Hermione.

"Er- hello," he said tugging at the burnt robes. Harry could tell he was wishing he hadn't arrived in such an embarrassing fashion. "I missed, er, how was your holiday?"

"Lovely," she said, anxiously running a hand through her bushy hair.

"I woke up mum and dad and they liked Australia so much that they wanted to spend a few more weeks there. I brought them home yesterday and got them settled in. Pigwidgeon was waiting there with the letter about Ginny's party," she paused.

"I missed you too."

"Oh, I, good, you look…. Good. So, you're ready to leave for school from here then?" He asked, relaxing and picking up her trunk.

"As always," she said, beaming. She bent down to pick up Crookshanks, but leapt with a shriek.

An owl had just landed in her hair.

It dropped envelopes it was carrying in its beak and thrashed around wildly until Ron rushed to detach it from Hermione's hair.

"Are you-" Ron started patting Hermione's head and trying to pull her in for a hug, but he was interrupted as Hermione shrieked again.

Harry's eyes flashed to her head, looking for a second owl, but found that she was holding up four Hogwarts letters.

"It's nothing new, Hermione. That's the eighth one we've gotten, nothing special," said Harry reaching for his.

"No," she said feeling through the paper. "Feel them. There's something heavy in these." She held up her own and his letter.

"Well that makes sense. You're a prefect and Harry's Quidditch captain," said Ron, picking up his own letter.

"Forgotten that we're both prefects too, Ron?" Ginny asked, eyeing Harry and Hermione's envelopes with interest.

"Still it's not like they're Head-"

"I'm Head Girl!" Hermione cried, holding up the badge. "Go on, Harry! I bet that's what you got!"

The excitement pulsed through Harry as he tore open the envelope. Ron stared daggers at it.

"No," Harry said, pulling out a badge.

"It's just a Quidditch captain badge," he said, remembering writing McGonagall about losing his old one.

"Then, I wonder…." Hermione started, her expression falling. "Oh well, I'm sure it'll be Ernie or Terry or someone from Ginny's year."

"Well done, Hermione," Harry said, reaching to pat her back but, Ron was there first. He pulled her into the hug he'd missed before and led her into the house to put her things away.

* * *

Ginny's birthday party went fairly well. Other than Mrs. Weasley accidentally spilling the bowl of potatoes on Harry while reaching to hug Hermione in congratulations, it went smoothly. 

After you get over the initial wave of pink, Harry thought while wiping potatoes off of his glasses, it actually looked quite nice. Mrs. Weasley had cooked a big dinner, of course, and after they'd finished, everyone stuffed down first, second, third, and, in Ron's case, fourth helpings of cake.

Around nine, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley began to clean up and the guests (Luna, Aunt Muriel (who had disproved of Harry and Ginny sitting so closely after reading an excerpt from _**SCAR**_ about his turbulent love life in the Daily Prophet), Andromeda, and Teddy) began to leave.

As Andromeda turned to leave, Harry gave Teddy a kiss and pinched his nose. The baby giggled and his hair grew darker and longer until it was jet black and just as untidy as Harry's. He laughed and waved goodbye to Andromeda.

As she turned on the spot and vanished, Harry saw a familiar person walking in the near-darkness. Though he had been quite cheerful every other time Harry had seen him for the past two months, George now looked somber and depressed.

Ginny had noticed too. She appeared at his side and leaned into him. Harry opened his arms, expecting a hug, but instead, she reached inside his robes and grabbed his invisibility cloak. He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a finger to her mouth, threw the cloak over them, and started following her brother.

"Ron's worried about him," she whispered as quietly as possible. "He won't talk about it very much because he doesn't want to upset anyone, but he says George locks himself up in his office for most of the day and only comes out to sign for things. He always acts so happy around us, though. I never thought it was false cheerfulness, though. If mum knew that he wasn't even inventing new products anymore…."

Harry nodded gravely.

"Well," Ginny said. "I just want to see what he's so upset about then we can help him."

They walked a little further until he realized where they were going. The oak where Fred was buried was only a little way ahead of them.

"No," he said, stopping. He had to put his arm out so Ginny wouldn't walk right out of the cloak. "We can't do this. This is too private."

"Oh, please!" she snapped, willing him forward. "You and Ron sneak around under this thing all the time! Don't lecture me about privacy. Fred's my brother too! Don't you want to see if there's anyway for us to help George?"

"I do, Gin! But, we can't do _this_," he said, wheeling her around. "We already know why he's sad. We don't need to get into it any further! This won't help him. It's like he lost half of himself or something. He has to work it out on his own. All we can hope to do is be there for him. Try to act as normal as possible, you know?"

"I know, I know. I just…." She said, letting him pull her back towards the house. "I want it _actually_ be back to normal, so badly."

She wasn't crying. Ginny rarely ever did, that was one of the many great things about her. Regardless, Harry heard the misery in her voice.

"I do too, Ginny," he said, pulling her into a hug as they crossed the lawn towards the brightly lit Burrow.

"Just….give it time."

* * *

­­­­­­­­For the first time in years, Harry could travel to King's Cross without a guard of Order members or a slew of Ministry cars (although Kingsley did offer). 

His summer had been more normal the usual, as well.

He and Ginny had spent their time flying on his new Firebolt, helping Mrs. Weasley clean (not as much as last summer, thank goodness), and watching Teddy while Ron was working and Hermione was with her parents. In the evenings, Charlie, Bill, Ron, George, and, occasionally, Percy would get together after dinner and have mock Quidditch matches with them. And, the best part about it (other than being around Ginny twenty-four hours a day) was that he needn't go back to Privet Drive like he had every other summer.

He chose to.

So, he didn't stay very long. Only about two minutes really, just enough time for him and Ron to sneak into the smallest bedroom and take all of his old things.

He pushed his trunk, full of things he's managed to sneak from Privet Drive before the Dursley's had returned and two new spell books, towards the barrier to Platform 9 & ¾ and did a quick check.

He had his Firebolt, his mokeskin pouch was around his neck, and his tawny owl, Tilly, was safe in her cage. He'd named her after a chocolate frog card that Ron had tossed him the night Hermione had left for Australia (Ron hadn't been able to sleep and was pacing the room eating whatever candy he could find).

At a run, he, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill passed through the barrier. Bill had taken the day off at his mother's request. With the Ministry rushing to restore the normality Harry had finally found over the past few weeks to the rest of the wizarding world, Percy and Mr. Weasley had been too busy. George might've come, but he didn't have Ron to run the shop anymore and Charlie had returned to his job in Romania.

Harry knew she was just being a little overprotective, but he was sure that if she looked over her shoulder one more time, her head might swivel off. Bill had picked up on this too. He put his hand on his mother's shoulder and guided her towards the scarlet steam engine.

"HARRY!" yelled a round-faced boy running towards the group.

"Neville!" he called, moving to shake his hand. Neville ignored the outstretched hand and moved in for a hug. He repeated this with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny before straightening his robes to reveal something no one had expected.

"NEVILLE!" shrieked Hermione, pointing to her chest where the Head Girl badge gleamed above her prefect badge. "I wasn't even sure that you were coming back this year and now you're Head Boy!"

"I spent half of last year in the Room of Requirement, so I reckon I have some catching up to do," his eyes flashed to her chest and Ron flung a protective arm around her before Neville said "I knew you'd have that! If you think I'm excited, but you should've seen _Gran! _She said she might have a heart-attack! All those times I could've done stuff to make her proud before and now I'm springing so many things on her at once," he said, his chest swelling as a grin spread across his face.

"Anyway, I have to go say bye to Gran. She's waiting with Trevor and the new owl she bought me. Did you know Luna got a job at Eeylops? Something to do with those snorkacks again. Well, I'll see you lot on the train!"

The four of them turned and said goodbye to Bill and Mrs. Weasley who hugged each of them tight and told them to keep out of trouble.

"Not much more trouble for us to get into anymore, Mum," said Ron, lifting Hermione's trunk onto the train.

"I reckon sneaking out to find a murderer, taking a trip to the Chamber of Secrets, leaving in the middle of the night on thestrals to take a tour of the Ministry, and skipping school for a year to fight Death Eaters just about tops a detention. But," he grunted as he gave a great heave and the trunk landed with a thump on the steps.

"Yeah, if we do manage to find some more trouble, we'll be sure to let you know first!"

He shut the door before she could tell him off and smiled as he waved at her red face. They rushed to their compartment to wave at Mrs. Weasley and Bill some more, but a dreamy voice stopped them.

"Hi, Harry," said Luna Lovegood from the compartment to their left.

Her greeting was echoed by three other Gryffindors, two of whom Harry hadn't expected to see. The faces of Dean Thomas and sandy-haired Seamus Finnegan were smiling back at his. Just as he walked forward to greet them, a hand patted him on the back.

Ernie Macmillan had walked into the compartment with Hannah Abbot.

"Harry! You look a right sight better than you did when I last saw you!"

Harry thought back to the burns and cuts that littered his skin when he and Ernie had last seen each other moments before he'd left Hogwarts for the Burrow in May.

"Dean, Seamus, Neville, Luna, Hermione, Ron, Ginny! Excellent! It's like a DA meeting or something," he said, plopping down next to Seamus to take a breath after that list of names.

His strength regained, he pointed to Hermione's chest "Knew you'd get that! Anyone know who's been made Head Boy? My money was on you, Harry, but I guess I was wrong."

"It's me!" Neville practically yelled as he pushed Ron's robes aside to see Ernie. The compartment was ridiculously crowded and, just as Terry Boot and Michael Corner arrived to add their voices to the roar, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione slipped out.

Ron started gasping for breath like a trout that had been abruptly pulled from a stream. "Those compartments," he started, huffing towards their own, "were _definitely_ not made for twelve people."

Then, as if struck on the head with a club, he stopped, rummaged through his trunk, scribbled something on a piece of parchment ("Ron how can you even read that!" scolded Hermione), and tied it to Pigwidgeon. He opened the window and threw the little owl out. Pig struggled for a moment then caught the wind and soared back in the direction of King's Cross.

"Are you going to explain that or do I have to ask?" Harry asked, totally confused.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" came the voice of the elderly witch who ran the cart of sweets every year. Ron's nervous face relaxed.

Hermione stepped forward and asked for a licorice wand, but, before she could pay, Ron stepped in front of her and bought it along with Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans and a pack of Chocolate Frogs for himself. Harry grabbed some Drooble's gum and bought himself and Ginny a few Pumpkin Pasties.

"Well," Ginny said, gulping down a mouthful of pasties as the trolley witch rolled to the next compartment. "What _was_ all that about, Ron?"

"Oh, that was nothing. I just forgot to tell George something. Who do you reckon took the Defence Against the Dark Arts job this year?" He said, changing the subject just quick enough for Harry to tell he was lying through his teeth.

"I dunno. I bet we'll need a new Transfiguration teacher too since McGonagall's Headmistress now. So what did you forget to tell George?" Harry asked, changing the subject in a casual tone in hopes that Ron might slip up.

Ron, however, ignored the question. "Maybe an Order member will do it! Imagine if Kingsley was-"

"Kingsley's the Minister of Magic, Ron. Maybe Mr. Doge or someone would do it as a favor to McGonagall," said Hermione.

"What," asked Ron, clearly annoyed that she had shot down his idea so quickly, "they didn't tell the _Head Girl _who the new employees are?"

"I'm just going to ignore such coarseness," she said, turning her attention back to the _Standard Book of Spells: Level 7_ in her lap.

"Well," spluttered Ron, "good, then. I'm glad you are." He turned over and laid down on the bench. Moments later they heard snores erupting from his open mouth.

Harry felt Ginny lean against him. She whispered in his ear.

"When is Ron ever going to learn?"

"Never," he said, stroking her hair and popping a piece of gum in his mouth.

He looked out the window where the hills and fields were streaking by like a brilliant green and blue painting he'd once seen in a muggle museum. No more mist. Dementor numbers, Mr. Weasley had told him, had been on a rapid downward slant since May. The hopelessness they spread was disappearing and in its place there was Quidditch, laughter, Hogwarts, Ginny, and everything else that was good in the world.

Things, Harry thought, were finally as they should be.

* * *

**A/N:** This wasn't my favorite chapter overall, though I did like certain parts of it. But, I can't wait for the next one where I wrote my very own Sorting Hat song. And I _think_ it _might_ actually be acceptable!

Also, I start tennis conditioning on Monday, so the whole four updates in one week thing I've been doing isn't really going to happen. When I am home, I'm sure I'll be far too sore to lift a finger. Yes, tennis is that intense. I think we run more than the soccer team...

ANYWAY, I'll have at least two for you all next week! Until then lemme know what you think, you know how much I love your reviews!

Oh and don't be afraid to criticize or suggest something you guys might want in the upcoming chapters! I've got a ton of ideas, but there's always room for subplots and twists and characters and places you want more of! Not enough Luna for you? Tell me! I'll throw her a few more lines!

Thanks for reading!


	5. Sorted

**Disclaimer: I don't own this. JKR and WB do. I don't even own nifty initials like them.**

**A/N: **The second day is always the hardest. Tennis conditioning is coming along. The pains in my hamstrings and abdomen are barely there anymore! Hooray. Well, here's Chapter 5! I managed to write it right before I watched "Disturbia" with my mom tonight. And now, I'm so creeped out, that I want to get off this computer ASAP and go sleep with mummy and daddy!

:-)

* * *

"Ron!" whispered Hermione, jabbing him in the sides.

"Ron, wake up!" she hissed, louder than before.

"Wha- gerroff! I'm up! Wha time-" he opened his eyes and groped through the air for what Harry thought might be his imaginary sheets.

"Hermione!" he sat up quickly. "Why- you- thought it was mum-"

"You're still on the train, Ron," she laughed, pushing him back onto the bench with both hands.

She stood and rummaged through Ron's trunk, pulling out his uniform and a new set of school robes. She threw them onto his chest and used a hand to smooth out her own.

"We'll be arriving soon. You'd better change."

Ron scowled. Harry wondered if he was still angry from their previous argument, or because he was embarrassed that Hermione had just laughed at him.

"Well!" he snapped. "Are you _leaving_ any time soon, or am I to put on a show for you all?"

"Oh, come on, Ron," said Ginny, lifting her head from the buckle she was fastening on her own shoe. "We all changed in here, seeing you in boxers is hardly as shocking as it would seem."

Ron looked from Hermione to Ginny, then, his face growing red, to Harry who was tucking his tie into his robes.

"You," he stammered. "You stayed in here while _they _changed?"

Harry looked up.

"Me?" he asked, looking to Ginny and Hermione for help. "They were, I mean, er-"

"Please, Ron," huffed Hermione, coming to his rescue. She tugged at Ron's hand and hastily buttoned his shirt.

"Can we not have a row about this? Just this once? It's not like we stripped down for Harry or whatever you're imagining in your sharpest of minds."

Ginny snickered.

"The most Harry saw was a shoulder."

"Yeah, mate," said Harry, finding his voice now that Ron had backed away and his face returned to its usual shade. "Bit disappointing, really."

"Oh, well," he huffed. "Sorry, then."

Just as Hermione moved to help Ron with his tie, the train came to a halt. Over the noisy din of the students moving past their compartment, Harry heard Hagrid's booming voice.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, over 'ere!"

"Hagrid!" Harry called, leaving their compartment and leaping from the scarlet steam engine.

"Hagrid! How're you?"

"Harry!" bellowed the half-giant, startling some of the smaller students. "How was yer summer? Me and Grawpy spent most o' the time helpin' Professor McGonagall ter clean up the castle. Yeh made a right mess las' spring," he said patting his back.

"Sorry I couldn't have been here to help clean it," he said. "But these three kept an annoyingly close watch one me."

"An' thank heavens they did!" he said, turning to help a small first year off of the train.

"I reckon yeh needed a bit o' rest, after all that! Right, well I better be gettin' the firs' years inter the boats, Professor McGonagall will be wantin' to start the Sortin' soon."

They turned to leave.

"Oh!" he added to their retreating backs.

"There's summat I want ter tell yeh," he paused.

"Actually, I s'pose McGonagall'll tell yeh in the start o' term speech. See yeh up there!" he called, waving their protesting faces off towards the thestral-drawn carriages.

* * *

The Great Hall looked, if possible, better than it ever had.

The marble staircase and great doors just outside had been repaired and inside, the enchanted ceiling's stars shone brightly on the four, slightly longer, House tables. It seemed like just as soon as they all had settled (and Hagrid had shuffled his way down the staff table), there was a slight burst of sound from the entrance hall.

The doors opened and tiny Professor Flitwick led the first years and Muggleborns who should have entered school last year between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws toward the Head table. There, the slightly charred, but still in tact, Sorting Hat sat motionless upon a stool.

The first years settled into two lines, looking very anxious. One boy had assumed the same green color Ron's face had turned when he vomited slugs in second year. Many of them looked to the older students who were staring at the hat expectantly. The green boy, along with most of the others, gulped and looked to the old hat. A moment later, the Sorting hat opened its brim and more than half of the new students jumped.

_Usually I'd sit, untouched,_

_And think the whole year through,_

_Of many things but, mainly,_

_Uniting all of you._

_I wanted to bring you together,_

_As close as the Founders Four,_

_"Unite before it's too late!" _

_I sang out, I implored._

_And, in the end, you listened,_

_Though, at the time, you hadn't known,_

_When Hogwarts was in grave peril,_

_Each Houses' true colors were shown._

_Yes, each house has its own quality,_

_Of this I know quite a lot,_

_But fighting, side by side,_

_Their differences lay forgot!_

_The House of Salazar Slytherin,_

_Ambitious, talented, strong,_

_Left our castle unprotected,_

_Joining the Dark Lord in throngs._

_But we must forget the past,_

_You shan't alienate the Slytherins more,_

_Their cowardice was withdrawn,_

_The valiant Severus Snape made sure._

_Of the wise and clever Ravenclaws,_

_Equal parts left and remained,_

_And, because of these brave wits,_

_Noble Hogwarts was not maimed._

_Just, old Helga Hufflepuff,_

_Always so kind, so fair,_

_Would've been so very proud of her House,_

_And the great loyalty that was shown there!_

_But none could be more proud,_

_Than bold, courageous Gryffindor,_

_The whole of his House stayed,_

_To keep our beloved school secure._

_Each house is just as great,_

_Each with courage, nerve, and wit,_

_You'll find a home in either one,_

_So let's get on with it!_

_Come try me on and worry not,_

_Just sit back, relax, don't fret,_

_Look around at these brave students,_

_And you'll see I've NEVER been wrong yet._

Everyone was stunned. It seemed like the hat that they'd never before appreciated for anything but sorting them, was now making more sense than any of them could've imagined. Harry felt like a fool for ever doubting it. Was it really just two years ago that he and Ron had scoffed at the idea of the school uniting? Then, forcing him back from his thoughts, a voice broke the silence.

Neville had stood up.

"That – was – brilliant!" he bellowed, clapping as loudly as he could. His excitement was echoed by every single person, alive or dead (for the ghosts had been hovering above). Even the new Muggleborns, whom Harry was almost certain had no idea what the Hat was talking about, were applauding with as much power their hands could muster.

Once the applause died down, Professor Flitwick, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye, conjured another stool for him to stand on while the Sorting took place.

The first two students went to Ravenclaw, and then there was a Hufflepuff, two Slytherins, three Gryffindors. This continued as it had many years before, until, at last, the green boy was called, and made into a Gryffindor. That brought the grand total up to a dozen new Ravenclaws, sixteen Hufflepuffs, ten Slytherins, and a fourteen new Gryffindors.

"Welcome," came a familiar voice, "to Hogwarts!"

Harry and the other Gryffindors broke out in applause, for their own Head of House was standing in front of Dumbledore's old chair. A couple of second years catcalled and Harry was instantly (and painfully) reminded of Fred and George. Professor McGonagall, who would have been in charge last year if not for Voldemort's reign, was now the Headmistress.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile. "And thank you, Sorting Hat, for the most beautiful of greetings yet. It is, I admit, a very tough act to follow. There are many things I should like to say to you all but, I am sure, you're all too hungry to listen. I shall save my speech until after the delicious feast our house elves have been preparing for all summer. So, if I may quote a great Headmaster of years past, tuck in!"

"Whoa," said Ron, already filling his plate with the piles of food before him. "It does look like they've taken a summer to make it!"

He bit into a large chicken leg.

"Tase whike it 'oo!"

"Disgusting," said Ginny, eying her brother over a heaping spoonful of pudding.

Ron, too consumed in all of the food, hadn't noticed. He reminded Harry of the sweeper Aunt Petunia used on the sitting room's horrible pink carpet. He was just about to tell Ginny about this particularly funny image, but remembered with a laugh that she probably had no idea what a sweeper was.

* * *

A quarter of an hour later, everyone, including the bottomless pit that was Ron, was entirely too full for another bite. That is, until, dessert gleamed in front of them and plates were hurriedly filled again.

They'd been so distracted by the food and the Sorting Hat that they'd forgotten to look for new teachers at the Head Table.

"Oi!" exclaimed Ron, looking up to the new arrivals. The black hair and pink cheeks of Hestia Jones were visible next to Hagrid in the chair previously held by Lupin, imposter Moody, Quirrell, and so many more. She saw him looking and gave the group a small wave and a smile.

"Well," said Harry approvingly, waving back and returning the smile. "Who better to teach us how to defend ourselves than someone from the Order? At least we know she's not a fraud like half the others."

The others nodded in agreement as they scanned the table for a new Transfiguration teacher. Just between the big, velvet-clad belly of Slughorn and Professor Vector, there was an old wizard with silver hair.

"Mr. Doge!" cried Harry, pointing to the wizened man.

"What do you reckon he knows about Transfiguration?" asked Ron, filling a spoon with almost half a block of ice cream.

"Well," said Harry, thinking hard.

"Oh, it's obvious, isn't it?" said Hermione looking at them like the answer was the most apparent piece of information in the world.

"He was Dumbledore's best friend!" they looked at her, still puzzled.

"Oh, don't you remember anything? Dumbledore was great at Transfiguration! He taught it before he was Headmaster. Remember the obituary Mr. Doge wrote? About Dumbledore always helping he and his friends with school work? If Dumbledore was as good as his private Transfiguration tutor, he must know a fair deal!"

"Well, I'm sorry we don't all have the steel-trap mind of a Head Girl," mumbled Ron into his ice cream. His self-pitying was interrupted, however, when Professor McGonagall stood and cleared her throat.

The first years, Harry realized, had come to have the same opinion Harry had once had of McGonagall (she wasn't a woman to be crossed) and fell silent immediately. McGonagall gave a small smile and spoke.

"Now that we are all full and becoming increasingly more susceptible to sleepiness," Ron let out a yawn. "I wish to make a short speech regarding the upcoming school year.

"As you all know, there are more students that usual this year, due to the lapse in education last year. So, we have eight classes instead of the usual seven. You will room with your usual dorm mates and adjustments have been made to your dormitories so that they've been expanded an extra room.

"As usual, we also have two new teachers filling out empty posts this year. Taking my place as the temporary head of the Transfiguration department, please welcome Professor Doge and, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Jones. Professors," she addressed Doge and Hestia, "I wish you the best of luck."

There was some polite applause followed by Doge and Hestia raising their goblets in thanks, and then she continued.

"Filling my position of Head of Gryffindor House, is our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Hagrid."

At this, the whole Gryffindor table stood to cheer for Hagrid who turned scarlet and, as he stood to thank them, knocked a plate of pudding on Professor Trelawney. McGonagall began again.

"The first years should note that the Forbidden Forest is, _shockingly_, forbidden. And, our, er, _caretaker_," she said the word as if it could, potentially, burn her lips. Harry smiled as he vaguely recalled her calling him a "blithering idiot" last spring.

"-would like me to remind you that all products from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are strictly prohibited and dueling in the halls is, as well."

Filch approached her and said a few quiet words. "Mr. Filch would also like to mention that a full list of banned items may be found on the door to his office," she turned to Filch.

Harry heard her speak in a menacing undertone. "Is _that_ all?"

Flich nodded and turned to retreat to his office with Mrs. Norris, scowling at McGonagall as he passed.

"Well," she continued, "Your timetables will be ready tomorrow morning," Ron groaned. Harry understood and grinned at him. He had also, momentarily, forgotten that coming back to school actually involved doing work.

"Excellent!" Hermione whispered excitedly to herself.

"You may proceed to your common rooms. First years, follow your prefects! Good night!" called Professor McGonagall, shooing the students towards the exits.

Hermione and Ginny moved to take the first years to Gryffindor Tower.

"Don't," said Ron, holding out his arm to Hermione. "Honestly, we're seventh years, let the younger prefects take care of it."

"You're only saying that because you're too full to make it up the stairs, let alone, explain things, Ron!" scolded Ginny as grabbed Hermione's arm and rushed off to help Neville with a group of first years.

"Prefects," Ron scoffed, watching Hermione's bushy brown hair retreat in the thick crowd. "What's the point?"

"Beats me," said Harry, looking at Ginny's head making her way out of the Great Hall. He grabbed Ron's shoulder and nudged him towards the door.

"Let's just get out of here and go to sleep. I don't even want to think about classes tomorrow."

Ron gasped just thinking about it, but, when he went to exhale, let out a loud belch instead and rubbed his stomach. He shook his head and began to climb the stairs.

"Agreed."

* * *

**A/N:** Did you like the Sorting Hat song? I, personally, love it. I've never been particulary good at poetry, but I'm fairly good at music and I tried saying it like I was singing a song or something. Well, even if you totally despised it, I'm still proud. Haha.

Thanks for all the GREAT reviews and even more of you who alerted and favorited. It means a whole lot to me. And, I know, this is a short chapter. But, I'm **very** busy right now. I promise that Thursday through Saturday, I'll be writing and editing a great chapter about their first few weeks at school. It'll be long and wonderful and you'll all love it. I hope.

So, even though it's a short chapter in comparison to the ones I usually put out, lemme know what you thought. Hearing your opinions keeps me going and lets me know what I need to continue with or change, so, keep it coming!

Thanks for reading!


	6. Birthday

**Disclaimer: Not mine. If it was I wouldn't be writing here, would I?**

**A/N: **Yay! I loved all my reviews last week so I wrote my longest chapter yet! Enjoy!

* * *

Harry was barely three weeks into school and the homework was already piling up. For the first time in his life, he had willingly come to the library to do something other than sneak into the restricted section.

Harry and Ron were each taking all the required N.E.W.T. courses to be Aurors which, thankfully, didn't include Astronomy, Divination, or History of Magic, the O.W.L.s they had failed. Hermione had the same schedule except, she was also in Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, History of Magic, and Astronomy, making her pile of homework substantially larger. Ginny, who had missed half of her sixth year, was another story entirely.

The students in her class were doubling up on classes and homework in order to learn everything from last year. This homework overload resulted in Ginny being absent from many dinners and shutting herself up in her dormitory every free second. And, they had hardly seen Luna at all.

"Star chart, Transfiguration diagram, Runes translation, Potions essay, Charms essay, and I recopied my History of Magic notes," said Hermione, counting off the tasks on her fingers. "I think I've finished for tonight."

Ron, who'd only just finished his Potions essay, grabbed for her diagram and Charms work.

"What the-" he said, looking at how long her work was. "We only needed a foot, Hermione! I mean, honestly, you take _four_ more classes than us and finish your homework faster. You don't have to rub it in by writing two feet!"

She started packing her star chart and Runes homework away. "Well, Ron. If you hadn't been doodling crazy things in the corners of your book or writing letters to George for the past three hours, maybe you'd be finished as well. Honestly, what do you write to George all the time? You two can't possibly have that much to talk about!"

She grabbed her homework back from him. "It's not like he's going to be much help with N.E.W.T. homework or anything. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to bring Ginny something to eat and maybe read ahead in Arithmancy."

"We have plenty to talk about and quite frankly, I don't think it's any of your business."

Hermione, obviously angered now, turned to leave.

"Don't leave!" Ron snapped, earning a stern look from Madam Pince. " I'm sorry. I mean, er, you don't need to read ahead and I'm sure Ginny's fine! Why don't you help us instead?" Ron whined, frowning as he patted the chair next to him.

She beamed.

"Well, I suppose I could help you if you really need it. I've been here three hours, though. If you needed help why didn't you ask?" she said, sitting back down.

Ron snatched the diagram and Charms essay from her fist, laughed heartily, noticed her angry face, and ran as fast as humanly possible toward the exit.

Harry looked up, laughing. Hermione was now chasing after him down the corridor. He bent his head down again and added the final inch to his Charms essay before she came huffing back into the library.

"Stupid, unbelievable, what a-"

Harry laughed again as he rolled up the parchment and tucked it away next to his Transfiguration essay. "Where is he?" He added, noticing that Hermione was alone.

"In the loo!" she said, her face reddening again. "He's copying my work in the boys' bathroom, the pathetic git!"

Harry knew she could have easily gone into the bathroom and hexed him to oblivion until she got her homework back but, Harry and Ron cheating off of Hermione was like a tradition now. Even she knew that.

Ron walked in, a grin on his face.

"Great stuff, Hermione," he said, giving her homework back. "Don't worry, I didn't copy it totally. Just needed the main points. Harry, mate, you can copy my diagram now if you'd like. It's great stuff. I'm sure Professor Doge'll be pleased with it."

Harry shot an apologetic look to Hermione, who seemed not to notice as she was glaring at Ron, and quickly scribbled the Transfiguration work down.

Hermione collected her things, said "Bye, Harry," and strode quickly away from them and towards the shortcut stairway to the second floor.

"Come on, Hermione!" Ron shouted after her.

"OUT!" shrieked Madam Pince who had been on edge ever since they'd arrived there hours ago. "OUT, OUT, OUT! I don't care how much of a hero you may be, until you learn the rules of _my_ library you shan't return!"

Ron made to argue, but she began shrieking again and the both of them sprinted from the room.

"Women," Ron said, looking to the stairs Hermione had disappeared down.

"Yeah," said Harry, looking back at red-faced Madam Pince.

"Harry! Ron!" called a familiar voice. Ritchie Coote had turned the corner. He and Jimmy Peakes, his fellow Gryffindor Beater, walked up to them.

"Hey mates," said Peakes. "So, Harry. When's the Quidditch tryout?"

"Oh," he said. The thought of Quidditch had been lost in all of the confusing homework and general shock of being back at Hogwarts. "Don't worry. You're both back on."

"Yeah but, we have a few friends who want to be the new Chaser. Two sixth years filled in last year before it was officially cancelled, Kirke and Sloper. You know? Those two who filled in for the Weasley twins a few years ago?"

Ron and Harry both cringed when he said twins, but Coote continued.

"They were ruddy horrible. Now that you're back," he added thoughtfully. "People are dying to sign up."

"Yeah well," muttered Harry. "That's the problem, isn't it? All right, I'll post a flier tomorrow. I suppose we can have tryouts on Sunday, I'll go ask Hagrid if it's all right."

"Cheers, Harry!" they said in unison, walking into the library.

"So," said Ron as they turned to head down for dinner. "You think anyone'll be any good, or you reckon it's gonna be like all the girls who showed up sixth year? Maybe you should screen them all before the tryouts and only let the ones who seem normal show up."

Harry chuckled. "And have everyone call me the Quidditch Nazi or something?"

"Not-see? You know I was rubbish at Care of Magical Creatures. What's a not-see?"

Harry laughed even harder. "Never mind, Ron."

* * *

Sunday came sooner than expected. The weather, now free of Dementor mist, was now clear and perfect for Quidditch.

Ginny, whom Harry hadn't seen for two days now, ran down the stairs into the Common Room, dressed and ready to fly.

"I've been looking forward to this for ages!" she said, practically skipping to the pitch. "Asked all my teachers for next week's homework, that's why I've been so cooped up. I figure I have all week to prepare for the first match!"

"Ginny," panted Harry, hurrying to keep up with her. "The first match isn't until November!"

"Obviously!" she said, turning to face him and Ron. "But I want to train with the new Chaser as much as I can, now I'll have less homework on weekends when I double up like that!"

"Bloody insane!" said Ron, mounting his broom. "First of all, that plan doesn't make any sense. You'll be too tired on weekends to move! Second of all, you're walking much too fast." He zoomed away towards the locker room where Demelza, Coote, and Peakes were all waiting.

"Well," said Ginny. "I think it's a perfectly good plan. I'm not tired now, am I?"

"Wonderful plan," said Harry, giving her a hug. "Absolutely brilliant."

"Sarcasm doesn't go unnoticed by me, Mr. Potter," she scolded as they neared the pitch. "I'm serious about Quidditch this year. Whether Mr. Youngest-Seeker-in-a-Century cares or not, I _will_ have a great season," she joked, mounting her broom and doing warm-up loops over his head.

"Well," Harry said to himself, looking out at the crowd of people who'd assembled for the one Chasing position he had open. "Here we go."

He explained the circumstances to the crowd, shooed away three Hufflepuffs, a Ravenclaw, and five first years, all of whom weren't even allowed to play, and had each of the six remaining Gryffindors take a few practice laps.

After the first lap, it was apparent that two of the potential Chasers, a second year girl with mousy brown hair and a third year boy with freckles, had never flown before. He apologized and dismissed them. The two joined Hermione, Luna, Neville, Hagrid, and Professor Jones in the stands.

Hestia and Hagrid were in deep conversation and Hagrid was gesturing wildly, probably describing his newest creature for class. He caught Hermione's eye and she waved with a sad smile playing on her face. She looked quickly at Ron's back, and stared back into her books again.

As Harry waved back and turned around to face the four remaining Chasers, he realized where the sadness in the smile came from. Today was September nineteenth; Hermione's birthday. He quickly racked his brains, trying to remember if he'd wished her well within the last two hours he'd been awake. Nothing.

Ron, who looked back at her, was turning green. So, he had realized too. With all of the homework and the daunting task of Quidditch tryouts looming ahead, Harry had completely forgotten. He shook the thought from his head and addressed Dean, Kirke, Sloper, and the blonde fourth year girl whose name was lost somewhere in his cluttered mind.

"Right, now, one at a time, I want you all to fly with Ginny and Demelza. They'll help you a bit if you get in trouble but, I just want to see how you handle the Quaffle. Try to catch all your passes and score on your own."

He looked at Ron and his Beaters. "I'm not going to send Peakes or Coote up unless it ends up being a close choice. So, Ron, Demelza, Ginny, and," he looked at the four new players, "you," he said, pointing at the girl, "In the air, please."

Ron, Harry thought, watching as his best friend preformed a flawless Starfish and Stick maneuver, had gotten much better. He blocked every shot the girl threw at him. But, she was still the front-runner after Sloper and Kirke took their turn. They had managed to drop the Quaffle a combined seven times between them and Kirke had hit Demelza in the head with it while trying to score.

Finally, it was Dean's turn. Ron managed to block his first four shots, then, after he had dived to save one and nearly fallen off of his broom, Hermione cheered for him. His face fell as he remembered the mistake he had made and he sloppily missed Dean's last shot.

Ron sank, uneasily to the ground, where Harry met him, patted him on the back, and congratulated Dean on making the team. The pitch had cleared as everyone hurried inside for lunch while Harry hung back to talk to Ron.

"What'll I do?" he bellowed when he sunk into the empty showers, scrubbing his ginger head ferociously. "I mean, we've never really celebrated it before, but at least we gave her some sweets or a book or something! I didn't even tell her "Happy Birthday," yet! Harry! This is bad! I don't even wanna see how angry she'll-"

"RELAX!" shouted Harry, interrupting his nervous ranting and stuffing his dirty robes into his rucksack. "I have a plan."

* * *

"Please, Gin!" whined Ron once he and Harry had found her in the Prefects' Bathroom. She was dripping wet and wrapped in a fluffy scarlet towel but, Ron was so worried about Hermione that he didn't care what Harry might be looking at.

"Ron," she said, ringing her wet hair so that water splashed on his trainers. "I have so much to do-"

"Good! That's perfect!" said Harry, coming to Ron's rescue. "You can distract Hermione by asking for help with homework or something!"

"Oh, but it's her birthday," she said, reaching for her clothes and stepping behind a nearby dressing shade. "I don't want her to have to sit in the library all day."

"She won't mind," said Ron. "She _loves_ the library! Besides, we're going to have a party for her. We just talked to Neville and he said he'd decorate the Common Room while we go to Hogsmeade."

"Oh, okay!" she said unhappily, returning from the shade and putting a drying charm on her hair. "So I'm just the distraction while you two get to go on a secret trip to Hogsmeade?"

"Oh, good!" cried Ron, hugging her. "You'll do it then! Thanks, Gin!"

He turned and ran toward the door.

"Sorry," said Harry, squeezing her quickly before jogging after Ron. He shouted back to her, "Thanks, Ginny! Don't get too jealous, I'll take you on a secret Hogsmeade trip one of these days!"

Once he was in the corridor with Ron, he looked around at the deserted area before bellowing, "KREACHER!"

The house elf appeared at Harry's side, and bowed deeply at him and Ron.

"Master Harry called?" he croaked in his bull-frog voice.

"Yeah, er, Kreacher, could you please have a whole mess of sweets and other party food sent up to Gryffindor Common room tonight? Is that possible?"

Kreacher bowed again. "Of course, Master Harry. Is that all?"

"Er," he looked to Ron who was feverishly checking his watch and bouncing on his heels. "Oh! Don't let Hermione know what you're doing and there's a boy in the Common Room named Neville Longbottom, help him with whatever he needs tonight."

"Yes, of course, Master Harry. Right away," he croaked, bowing again.

"Thank you, Kreacher," said Harry as the elf disappeared to the kitchens.

"All right, Ron. It's three. Ginny can stall Hermione for about an hour and then they'll go to dinner. So I reckon we have about two hours get into Hogsmeade, buy presents, and get back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Well then," said a smirking Ginny who had just left the bathroom behind them, "you two had better get going, hadn't you?"

"Shut-" started Ron, but Harry pulled him away and they ran down the stairs to the statue of the hump-backed witch.

Harry checked the Marauders' Map. "Okay, no ones around. _Dissendium!_"

As he tapped his wand on the hump, the stone slid away and a dark opening appeared. Ron lit his wand, and sprinted down the staircase. Harry sealed the hump and followed.

After five solid minutes of running, Ron fell over and his legs smacked painfully onto the stone stairs leading to Honeydukes cellar. Harry pulled his cloak from inside his robes and they crept underneath it until they were safely hidden in an alleyway.

"Wait," said Harry, holding out his arm as Ron rushed towards Gladrags. "You don't think any of the shopkeepers will report us to McGonagall, do you?"

"You're Harry Potter," said Ron, simply as he turned the corner.

"And you're Ron Weasley," muttered Harry under his breath as he followed him.

"Right," said Ron, standing between Scrivenshaft's and Gladrags. "What d'you reckon Hermione'd want?"

"I dunno, Ron. We'd always just get her books and sweets. But," he added, eyeing Ron's paling complexion, "you could go to Scrivenshaft's and get a nice quill and some fancy parchment with her name on it or Gladrags. I don't know much about it but the girls go in there all the time. Didn't Ginny and Hermione buy dress robes there fourth year?"

"Okay," he said. "Okay, okay, er, let's try Gladrags. We've already been gone half an hour so we'd better hurry."

When they walked in, Harry thought Gladrags was more like a Muggle department store than Madam Malkin's. There was a section devoted to dress robes, work robes, Hogwarts robes, then a whole area entirely covered in shoes, and another plastered wall to wall with jewelry.

"Wow," said Ron who'd obviously never been there before either. "Where do we start?"

"Well," said Harry, pulling him towards the jewelry, "we can't just buy her clothes or shoes, that'd be weird and I'm sure whatever we picked out would be awful and she'd never wear it."

"Blimey, this is too much to think about."

"Sure is," said Harry examining a necklace with a scarlet G emblazoned on it. He wondered how Ginny was faring with her distraction. "All right, Ron, we need to do this quickly. How much do you have?"

"Twenty galleons and seven sickles," he answered, proud. "I should've brought more but, I'm saving everything I earned working with George this summer so this is all I have set away until I have to buy Christmas presents."

"Right, well, everything beneath that red, beady thing and above the green, shiny, hoop thing is within your range I guess."

Ron spent the next ten minutes holding up an assortment of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, all of which ranged from being far too extravagant for Hermione, or as ugly and tacky as Ron's "Sweetheart" necklace.

After another few moments, he had it narrowed down to two choices.

"There's the silver locket thingy or the gold bracelet. Which one should I get? On the one hand, she already has a bracelet, she was wearing it yesterday, but on the other hand the locket might recall bad memories."

Harry shrugged. "How much is the locket?"

"Ten galleons and five sickles."

"And the bracelet?"

"Fifteen galleons."

"Well," laughed Harry, "there's your answer."

"Shut it, Harry! This is serious."

"I am serious, plus the locket's nicer anyway. You can put your picture in it, too!"

"Right, here's the money. Excellent, I have enough left for some Firewhiskey! While you pay I'll head to the Three Broomsticks, meet me at Honeydukes then we'll get your present and be off."

"All right," said Harry. "Don't be an idiot about the Firewhiskey, though. Don't try to flirt with Rosemerta until she gives it to you, either, we don't have time for it."

"Oh, you're funny, Harry," said Ron, turning away. "Keep it up, really. This is a great time for cracking jokes."

Ron left the shop and Harry moved towards the sales witch behind the counter. She took a look at the locket and said "Twenty two galleons."

"Wait," said Harry, pulling back the hand where Ron's money was. "The rack said ten and five sickles."

She looked over at the jewelry and said "Yeah, that's for the jeweled hair pins underneath it."

Harry bounced on his heels nervously then thrust his hand into his pocket and pulled out twelve more galleons. He threw the money on the counter as the wrapped the locket up. Once she finished, he grabbed the package and walked away from the store, throwing the receipt in the mud.

"Harry!" Ron called from the entrance of Honeydukes, waving a bottle of Firewhiskey in the air. "Rosemerta gave me a discount, too! I forgot to tell you to get the receipt, in case Hermione doesn't want it."

Harry gave an uneasy smile and handed Ron the five sickles he hadn't used. "Sorry, mate, I, er, I forgot."

"You didn't get it? Damn it. All right, it's fine. Why didn't they take the sickles?"

"Er," started Harry.

"Did they give you a discount? Of course, The Chosen One! You're paying for my stuff from now on! Now I can get a chocolate frog before the run back."

Harry nodded, happy he didn't have to make up an excuse because he knew how much the truth would hurt Ron, especially after he'd worked so hard all summer.

They walked into Honeydukes and Harry picked up a large box of Bertie Bott's Beans, some sugar quills, and some chocolate frogs for Hermione. As the sales wizard was wrapping his candy, Ron, who'd been stuffing his face with chocolate, went rigid at his side.

"Flitwick," he said through gritted teeth. Harry turned and saw the little professor examining a shelf full of Ice Mice. He threw down five galleons which would be more than enough for his purchases, grabbed the package, and flung the cloak over he and Ron just as the sales wizard turned to help Professor Flitwick reach a box of the Mice candy.

He and Ron, who was frantically checking his watch, ran down and back through the secret passage. They didn't stop sprinting until they both tripped over the set of stairs leading to the third floor corridor. Harry relit his wand and pointed it a Ron's dirty robes. _"Tergio!"_ Ron did the same for him and, they clambered out of the statue.

"We have," wheezed Ron but, his voice was drowned out by the sound of students coming up from dinner.

Harry grabbed his sleeve and they started running again. He hadn't run this much since last year when they were constantly being hunted by Voldemort. It was so intense that Harry was even thinking of having his whole Quidditch team try sneaking around for a few hours to get into shape.

They reached Gryffindor Tower and before she could even ask Ron panted "Mandrake!" and the Fat Lady swung open to reveal a Common Room that was just as decorated as when Fred and George threw parties for Quidditch. Neville, Dean, and Seamus were finishing with hanging a banner above a table in the corner where Kreacher was setting down the last of the Butterbeer.

"Harry, Ron!" called Neville. "Put those next to mine and Ginny's," he said, eyeing the presents, "and give us a hand with this!"

Once the room was decorated, Neville had snuck Luna in, and most of the Gryffindors had returned from dinner, a silvery stallion burst through the portrait hall. Ginny's voice came from it's shining snout.

"_There's nothing else to do. She's suspicious. Just stopped off in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to send this and now we're coming. Someone send for Harry and Ron if they're not back yet."_

* * *

The party was, possibly, as fun as some of the ones thrown by Fred and George.

The pile of presents had grown larger since Harry and Ron had thrown theirs' down. Some of the younger students who didn't even know Hermione had hastily wrapped some sweets they had left over from the Hogwarts Express and tossed them onto the pile as well. While others who knew her better, like Neville and Luna, got her books. She was so happy when she saw the decorations and food that she burst into tears, dropped all of her books, and hugged everyone around her.

"Oh, Harry, Ron! Ginny!" she sobbed, looking at the streamers and banner. "Neville! Thank you all so, so much! And to think I'd been so miserable because I thought you'd all forgotten!"

Ron gave an uneasy smile and said, "We'd never forget, Hermione," as she pulled him in for his hug.

Ginny smirked into her Butterbeer and began handing Hermione presents.

Ron ignored her and added, "And, only one house-elf helped! And Kreacher did it willingly, mind you."

She beamed and moved in for another hug.

After four solid hours of food, drinks, and partying, Neville was asleep in the corner with a Firewhiskey bottle in his hand and his Head Boy badge pinned to his hat, Luna was still swaying to the music coming out of the radio, and Dean and Seamus had taken to arm wrestling while some of the younger girls (Romilda Vane, included) cheered them on.

Ginny yawned and wished Hermione happy birthday again before kissing Harry on the cheek and going to bed. Harry hung back a few moments, just enough time to see Ron grab Hermione's hand and quickly lead her through the portrait hole with his present tucked in his back pocket.

He smiled and climbed up the stairs himself for some much needed sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Why didn't anyone ever celebrate Hermione's birthday? It's always just looked over. So this chapter was mainly my way of getting Quidditch and her much needed party out of the way. I promise in the next one I'll have much more of their classes. I can't wait to see some Doge and Hestia. And Slughorn looks fun to write, too! I haven't forgotten Slug Club, either. Oh, joy!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, read, favorited, and alerted (oh, and wished me luck with tennis! first match tomorrow!). I think I'm up to like 77ish reviews now? That's way more than I orginally imagined and you have no idea how happy that makes me! So, click the pretty purple button and tell me what you thought!


	7. Portrait

**Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me. JKR, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, WB... it's all theirs.**

**A/N:** Yay updates! I've been so busy. I meant to do this yesterday, but grandparent's 50th anniversary somehow outweighed this on the importance scale. Sorry.

Go Chapter 7!

* * *

Harry watched as Hermione sat reading over her Charms notes and twirling her locket in her new fingers. 

"Hermione," he said, "Why are you reading Charms notes?"

"There's a quiz tomorrow, Harry! The question really is why aren't _you_ reading over _your_ Charms notes?"

"Maybe because the quiz is on producing a _Patronus_ charm," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Which, I believe, I learned half a _decade_ ago and subsequently taught to you _years_ ago."

"Yes, yes, but do we _really_ know the theory behind it?" she said seriously and turning back to her notes.

"Hermione," whined Ron. "Can't we just go outside or sneak into Hogsmeade or something? The only real reason we _have_ to learn this is because we have Charms with the Slytherins. Everyone else was in the D.A. and knows it."

"That's right, Hermione!" said Ginny from Harry's shoulder. "Luna told me that everyone in her class showed Flitwick they could do it and they moved straight on to the Protean charm!"

"And that's all very well, but how do we know that he isn't going to throw in a question from the footnotes in this thing!" she held up a heavy, leather-bound book.

"Has he ever done that before?" yawned Harry, looking outside at the last rays of late September sunlight.

"Well," she said, looking at the book. "No. But-"

"Then it's settled," said Ron, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the portrait hole. "Harry, Ginny, let's go to Hagrid's!"

The three of them, with a protesting Hermione in tow, made their way down the staircases and into the entrance hall.

"Ron!" called a familiar voice. Harry turned to see a redheaded wizard in horn-rimmed glasses rushing towards them.

As Percy Weasley pulled his younger siblings into a hug and then was given one himself by Hermione, Harry couldn't believe the change he'd been through. A year ago Percy, if he'd make an attempt to greet them at all, would have only extended a brooding hand to his sister and brother. Now, he was the one rushing up to them for hugs. Percy turned to Harry and, in a rush of affection, Harry hugged him, same as Hermione.

"What're you doing here, Perce?" asked Ginny, wrapping her robes tighter around her as the doors flew open and an autumn chill filled the hall.

The question, however, was answered for him as a tired and worn-looking Kingsley Shacklebolt walked in.

"Percy," he called in his deep, booming voice. "Along with the Headmistress and Hestia, would you mind finding Hagrid for me as well? He's not at his hut."

"Right away," he said as Kingsley sunk down onto the nearest bench. Percy turned back to them. "Any ideas where he may be?"

"Try Gryffindor Tower or McGonagall's office. He's Head of Gryffindor now, so he's usually there," said Hermione.

"But," called Ron as Percy darted away, "_WHY_ ARE YOU HERE?"

Percy smirked and turned the corner.

This smirk resembled the one he had once given his brother while keeping the secret of the Triwizard Tournament from him and his friends. Harry began to wonder what he might have been hiding when remembered that the Minister of Magic was twenty feet away from him.

"Kings- I mean, er, Minister!" called Harry, jogging toward him. "How're you?"

"Well," huffed Kingsley, his dark eyes staring up at him from puffy, tired sockets, "First of all, call me Kingsley. The only people whom I allow to call me Minister are the people who work for me."

"And second…. it's a long story really. But," he said, glancing at the corner Percy had disappeared around, "it's also a big school, so I suppose I have a bit of time to tell it."

Harry was glad he was going to talk to them; all summer he had ached for news from the Ministry, but no one had told him anything for fear that he'd leave to help with the clean-up efforts. With the rush of returning to school, he'd almost forgotten that there was a world outside of Charms essays and brewing potions.

"As you probably know, it's taken us quite a while to round up Death Eaters, giants, trolls, the acromantulas….and we spent all summer fixing this place and the Ministry up. It's been, needless to say, a grueling task. Before we could remove the Magic is Might statue and slogans we had to find out who had really been Imperiused. That Umbridge toad, Runcorn, and many more are still being detained there until we fix up Azkaban. Which, we are actually in the process of. That's kind of why I'm here today, actually."

"But," Hermione started, "what does Azkaban have to do with Hagrid?"

"Oh, I knew this would happen," he chuckled. "I skipped an entire part of the story! All right, this summer while I was taking a load of acromantulas from the forest, I saw Hagrid was writing up a few lesson plans and he mentioned wanting to get a Lethifold-"

"What's-" Harry began.

"One of the most dangerous beasts in the world, the Lethifold resembles a silky, black cloak and attacks sleeping humans first smothering them, and then digesting. It's, luckily, very rare and only found in tropical areas and, even luckier for us, the only thing that can defeat is a corporeal Patronus," recited Hermione.

"Right," said Kingsley, taken aback. "Well, I see that fighting one in Defence Against the Dark Arts isn't going to be much of a strain for you, Hermione."

"Where did you get it?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Azkaban, actually. That's where my story was going. I was just at Azkaban putting some of those Ministry officials away and we had just apprehended a wizard who was a rumored Voldemort supporter. We found him innocent, though. Imperiused, you see. Well, I was about to let him go when we found out he'd been selling Lethifolds illegally. He had one on him at the time and I figured, if Hestia wouldn't mind having a joint class with Hagrid, you know, since Hagrid can't produce a Patronus, I'd bring it here once his trial ended."

"Isn't that-"

"Dangerous, Hermione?" he laughed, "Yes, but there've been four dragons, a fleet of dementors, a sphinx, and, from what I hear, some temperamental creature called a skrewt here already, haven't there? Besides, Hestia is more than capable and, I know you four won't have a problem with it, but some of the other students have never cast a Patronus, right?"

"No, of course not!" Ginny agreed, generically as Harry knew she hadn't listened to a word he said. "Is it here?" she asked excitedly, peering behind Kingsley as if he was hiding it behind his back.

"No, we have to wait until after the trial, then I'll have Hagrid and Hestia come get it. I'd send an Auror with it, but we need as many as we can get right now," he said, leaning back into the wall.

Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and Hestia appeared followed by a winded Percy Weasley.

"There – there you go, Minister. Sorry," he wheezed. "They were all in separate wings and towers, you see."

Kingsley nodded his appreciation to Percy and got to his feet. He turned to the four of them.

"It was good talking to you all, good luck with the school year."

"Wait, Kingsley!" Harry called as he made his way across the hall, "if – if there's anything I can do-"

"Harry," he said, patting his shoulder. "You've done enough," he held up a hand to his protesting face, "Just finish the school year and then when you become an Auror, you'll _have_ to help me." He smiled and walked away.

They waved to Percy and Ron muttered "A Lethifold. The git keeps us in the dark to surprise us with a floating, black death-trap."

"Well," he said as they stood alone in the hall. "I was just thinking about our options. We can't visit Hagrid and I reckon it's too dark for Quidditch. So, Exploding Snap, maybe?"

They all agreed on this (Hermione took some persuasion as she wanted to finish studying her Charms notes) and set off the Gryffindor Tower.

"It's mad!" cried Hermione, breaking the silence they'd been walking in. "Hagrid handling the most dangerous creature on Earth? He could barely handle the dementors when he was locked up!"

"Hagrid's capable, Hermione," started Harry. "Dementors are another story, entirely. They sort of suck away your only weapon against them, you know? Plus, he's handled loads of creatures before. Remember Fluffy and the skrewts?"

"Yes, and that's all very well, but a _Lethifold_! Those are _so_ dangerous. I just don't want him digested in his sleep. You just know he's going to want to keep it at his hut, too."

"That is true," said Ginny, "I'm almost in agreement with Hermione. Maybe they should keep it with Hestia. You really think he can't produce a Patronus?"

"I'd have to assume not," said Hermione. "His pink umbrella is really only good for simpler spells."

"Well," Ron pointed out, smugly, "The _Headmistress_ and _Minister of Magic _think he's more than capable."

"Dumbledore would, too," added Harry quietly.

"And so do I."

* * *

October arrived, in Harry's opinion, too fast. His Quidditch team had only had two practices so far and if they didn't start training hard soon, they'd be as bad as the Chudley Cannons. 

On top of that, Ron was having increasingly bad mood swings that would affect his game at times. Harry suspected it was because between classes and Head Girl duties, Hermione was slowly spending less and less time with them.

Yesterday he'd nearly fallen off his broom when she shouted up to him that she wouldn't be able to study with him because she had hall duty with Neville.

"RON!" Harry bellowed for the second time as a Bludger grazed his ear. "Just, just come down a minute!"

"I know!" he yelled, landing beside Harry as the other five whizzed above them. "I'm a right mess! I dunno-"

"Shut up, Ron," he said, watching Ginny make a spectacular catch then zoom towards the goal. "Now listen, because I'm only going to say this once."

He sat down on the pitch and motioned for Ron to do the same.

"You," he started, "are the best damn Keeper in the whole effing school."

"So eloquently put, mate," said Ron who, despite his remark, looked pleased.

"Yeah, well, start acting like the _best_ Keeper, Ron. You're out there all cross with Hermione and you're forgetting the simplest things! You nearly died yesterday. I mean, you helped me fight Voldemort for a year and, mind you," he looked toward the stands where Hermione was doing her homework, "you did get the girl."

"All in all, Quidditch should be a piece of cake for you, right? Listen," he lowered his voice, "if you're so worried about spending some more time with Hermione, take hall duty with her every night. You _are_ a prefect. And Merlin knows you don't spend your evenings doing anything more than brooding over the fact that she's not there!"

Ron turned red then, the color subsided and he looked at Harry like he was a god. "_Twelve Fail-Safe Ways to Charm Witches_ couldn't have said it better, mate!"

After this, Ron flew spectacularly. With his great performance, Ginny's near perfect shots, Demelza and Dean's swift flying and accuracy, and his Beaters hitting almost as perfectly as two other Gryffindor Beaters (with red hair, freckles, and identical mugs) once had, no one could stop them. Harry, pleased with their practice, reminded them about practice next Sunday and the first match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, the very next weekend, and dismissed them.

"Harry," said Ginny, trotting after him once they'd left the changing rooms. "You sure we don't need more practices? I wanted to try something new with the Chasers and you've barely gotten to chase a Snitch and Ron still needs to learn to-"

"Right, fine, where's Hagrid? I'll just ask him to let us on every night so that no one else can train and then we'll have to win," he joked.

"No, I mean, just like one more, Sunday is nearly a week before the match! We need one at least two days before," she pleaded.

"I guess you're right," he said thoughtfully. "Fine, where is Hagrid?"

"I think he's visiting Kingsley, isn't he? Well, that's what Luna said, she still takes Care of Magical Creatures, you see. You could always ask McGonagall," she said hopefully.

"Right, I'll do it now; I don't have any homework this evening!"

"Well, I suppose it's oh-so-nice to be duty-free and fanciful all night! I'll be locked in the library writing about six feet worth of essays if you need me," she walked off, her shining hair dancing behind her as she jogged up the stairs to the fourth floor.

* * *

Harry began his walk to the Head's office where he thought he may find McGonagall. When he reached the stone gargoyle, though, it was not disoriented as he had found it last year, but in perfect condition and waiting for a password Harry did not know. 

If it had been Dumbledore's office, he'd have begun rambling off candies like mad, but he didn't know as much about McGonagall. What did she like?

"Dumbledore!" it didn't move.

"Gryffindor! McGonagall! Snape?" he was desperate now. "Sherbet lemon?! Acid pops!"

"Potter!" came a voice from behind him. The gargoyle sprang to life and Professor McGonagall came striding to his front.

Harry didn't know whether to thank her or what, but he blushed almost as uncontrollably as Hermione when Ron was doling out "witch-charming" compliments.

"Er – Headmistress," he began as they climbed the stairs. "Ginny told me that Hagrid's away visiting the Minister-"

"Yes, he's gone to get the Lethifold, I sent Professor Jones with him as well."

"Yeah, well, I was wondering then if you could give me permission to book the Quidditch pitch some time the next week then. I was thinking about Thursday evening and then Friday afternoon since we get it off. Would it be okay?"

"You've just had it today, and… today is Thursday, right?" he nodded and she scrolled her finger down a giant ledger. "Then you've got it booked for this Sunday morning. Slytherin has it tomorrow, Saturday, and Friday night. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw have Sunday night through Wednesday filled. I'm sure Professor Slughorn will be up here any moment to try and book another practice for the Slytherins. If you took these it would _completely_ book the pitch except for one hour late Friday night," she said, her face curling into an evil grin as she set the book down and took out a quill. "So, yes, you may definitely practice, I'll tell the other Heads immediately."

Harry laughed. "Thanks, professor."

As he turned to leave he noticed a silver-bearded wizard snoozing in the frame above McGonagall's desk.

"Professor McGonagall," he said, still staring at Dumbledore's portrait. At the sound of his voice, his old Headmaster stirred. "Where's Professor Snape's portrait?"

"What? Oh! I hadn't noticed. You see, when a Headmaster leaves the school unprotected like Snape _seemed_ to, their portrait is never hung on the walls."

"But we've got to hang it!" Harry protested. Dumbledore's face split into a huge grin.

"I mean, he was a hero. I can't think of any two, well three" he said, looking at McGonagall, "Heads that could offer more valuable advice than Dumbledore, Snape, and you!"

"I agree with you, wholeheartedly, Harry!" called Dumbledore.

"Yes, yes!" shouted Phineas Nigellus who had been listening in. "We need another Slytherin here, so as not to make it too biased. Far too many Gryffindors were Heads. Quite unfair, if you ask me!"

The other portraits weighed in with their own opinions of Snape and Phineas's comments until McGonagall, who hadn't needed much convincing after the moment Dumbledore had approved it, raised her hands to silence them.

"Very well, Professor Snape's portrait will be hung immediately," her face took on the evil grin again. "I'll send Flich for it. Merlin knows he's not doing anything else. Well," she bellowed over the din of the debating portraits, "Mr. Potter, in your infinite wisdom, I do believe you've been enough of a nuisance here. Off you go, they'll be missing you at dinner. Next time, do try not to start a war between my portraits!"

Harry smiled, thanked her again, and, with a wave to Dumbledore, sprinted downstairs to the Great Hall.

"Guess what!" he called to Hermione's back as he saw her leave the library and head toward the Great Hall as well. 

"What? Why are you running?" She plugged her nose. "Why haven't you changed clothes yet?"

"Oh, shut up. I was just up at McGonagall's office and I saw that Snape doesn't have a portrait-"

"Oh, well, of course he doesn't! Why didn't I think of it? You see, Heads can't get portraits when they-" she started.

"Abandon the school. Yeah I know. Anyway, I convinced McGonagall… and all of the other Heads, I suppose, to hang one up."

She paused and all of the sudden hugged him tightly, despite his sweaty, smelly Quidditch robes. When she pulled away there were tears glistening in the corners of her eyes. She always was so emotional, Harry thought.

"That's, that's _wonderful_ Harry. You're so-" she hugged him again. He hugged back and flung a stinky arm around her as they walked into the Great Hall.

Ron, who had been stuffing his face with some kind of unrecognizable pudding, looked up and spat "Ehminee, Ahy, wha ah oo doig?"

They sat down as he swallowed and repeated slowly. "What were you two just doing?"

Hermione told the story to Ron's red face and as she reached for his hand about halfway through, the dazed look on his face proved that any misconceptions or anger he had harbored minutes before had gone.

"Where's Ginny?" asked Harry, hoping to break the trance they had fallen into.

"Didn't want to eat," said Ron, helping himself to another drumstick. "I think she might be flying or something."

"No! I just left her in the library, Ronald. She told you she was going there half an hour ago. Honestly," she dropped her book.

"Hey!" cried Hermione excitedly and she picked it up. "Remember in first year when McGonagall turned her desk into a pig?"

"Vaguely," said Harry as Ron shook his head, confused and too invested in his chicken.

"Well, Professor Doge said he was going to teach us large animal Transfiguration tomorrow!"

"But, Hermione," said Ron, brushing some crumbs off his shirt. "You already know how to do that."

"Yes, I know," she said, thumbing through her Transfiguration book. "But I've been waiting seven years for the day we'd actually get to do it in class!"

Harry laughed and Ron bent his head to drink some pumpkin juice.

"Mental," he breathed into the cup.

* * *

"Good morning!" cried the wizened voice of Elphias Doge from the front of the Transfiguration classroom. 

"Today," he pointed to a diagram on the blackboard. "We are learning large animal Transfiguration on animate and inanimate objects," he pointed his wand at Seamus. "Observe."

He muttered an indecipherable word and Seamus turned into a cow, then a boar, then a sheep, and back to a boy. Seamus rubbed his head and pulled on his face as the rest of the class laughed.

"I expect you've all read the theory of this and," he pointed at the words on the blackboard. "It's really no different from small animal Transfigurations like mice and cats. Just different words. Very nice, Mr. Thomas," he added as Dean turned his chair into a perfect Dalmatian.

"Weasleys! Try it on desks first!" he bellowed, stunning Ron to stop him from turning Ginny into a bull, just in time.

"_Enneverate!" _Ron awoke. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Weasley. I just - had to - just in case something…. goes awry!" he panted, settling down into a nearby chair.

"I don't know if I can handle human Transfiguration any longer!" he added to Harry. "Madam Pomfrey is busy with two half-moose and four half-cow students already," he mopped his brow with his handkerchief.

Harry laughed and gave his professor a small smile before attempting the spell himself.

By the end of the lesson, Harry and Ron had succeeded in turning their desks into various barnyard animals. Harry had almost made a jaguar once, but when he turned it back, his desk had a furry black tail.

Only Hermione had successfully turned a person into an animal and, at the moment, crane-Ginny was flying about the room to thunderous applause. She landed and, with a flick of Hermione's wand, became Ginny once more.

"Excellent!" cried Doge as the lunch bell rang, "Absolutely spectacular, Hermione! Take twenty points for Gryffindor and have a good weekend, everyone!

The three of them waited as Ginny collected her books. It was a Friday so they had the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted.

"Well, what should we do?" asked Hermione, turning into the deserted hall that was a shortcut to Gryffindor Tower. "We could always-" But no one heard the rest of her idea. Harry and Ron looked at each other and then, within a second, set their plans to motion.

In one deft lunge, Harry pulled out his Invisibility cloak and forced Ginny under as Ron Disillusioned Hermione and himself, holding her tight around the waste. She opened her mouth to protest but Ginny silenced her, laughing hysterically.

"Wha- what are we, huh huh, doing?" she said, as Harry led her to the One-Eyed-Witch passageway. "She's going to go mental, Harry. You shouldn't have-"

A little way in front of them, Ron was forcing Hermione through the passage and, rather stupidly, lifted the silencing charm and let her go.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" she yelled, and slapping noises echoed off of the walls. Harry and Ginny ran to get in before they were found out. "RONALD WEASLEY! SCARED ME TO DEATH! YOU ARE THE MOST…. AN ABSOLUTE, TOTAL ARSE! I CAN'T BELI-"

But the passage closed before anyone heard the rest and they walked on towards Hogsmeade to enjoy the rest of the crisp, October day. Hermione, Harry later thought, hadn't minded nearly as much as she put on. In fact, after the humdrum dullness of the school year so far (the lack of deaths, attacks, dark wizards, or evil plots), they all needed a little adventure.

* * *

A/N: This goes without saying but THANKS to everyone who favorited and alerted and (especially) reviewed!

So Chappter 7: I liked it. I hope you did too! I'm _thinking _the next chapter will bring the results of the Quidditch match, the Lethifold, some Potions, an excerpt from the most talked-about biography since _The life and Lifes of Ablus Dumbledore_ (hitting Flourish and Blotts as we speak!), and Christmas shopping. So, without further adieu, you've reached the end of my chapter, so press your favorite purple button.


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